Metaphor for Life

Longest Month Ever

2015-04-19T11:25:00.001-06:00

Though shortest in days, February feels like the longest month and this year proved no exception. Cold and snow and cold and snow and more cold and more snow. I'm a Utah girl so I should be prepared for winters like this but this year was pound you into the ground until you're bruised and bloodied and forgotten what warmth feels like. It didn't help that I had to travel to Toronto twice. Yes I may be being a bit dramatic but I don't care. This year's winter tested all my sanity.

A few highlights:

Captured a perfect sunset at the temple

Visited Lincoln's Cottage (missed the tour though)

Found 1st National Cemetery (aka Arlington Light)

Additionally my friend Mel came to town for a week so I spent a few days driving to Leesburg after work to play with her and Cheryl. One night we went to Cheryl's gym and did pilates. I wish someone had a camera as we looked quite uncoordinated at times.

The biggest news that happened in February started from a Sunday morning message from my boss's boss asking if I'd seen his email the day before. I hadn't since I don't check my emails on the weekend. Quickly looked and he asked if I would come up to Toronto for leadership meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. Having no idea why I was singled out but also knowing I'd miss an important opportunity at work, I logged onto my company's travel site and booked a trip the next day. My boss chatted with me the next day and mentioned that the org changes that we all thought were going to happen were tossed aside for a new plan from the VP. After two days of meetings, I still had no idea why I had been asked to join. An hour before leaving for the airport, the VP pulled me into his office to chat. What he suggested was exactly what I had been hoping for and immediately accepted a new role. The catch: I had to fly to Toronto more often. Gratefully it's such a quick flight that going once or twice a month wouldn't be too problematic and the weather is getting warmer so here's hoping to better things.

A New Year

2015-03-23T20:01:00.002-06:00

Ringing in the New Year always sounded like there should be an elaborate party when, at the stroke of midnight, everyone would cheer "Happy New Year" and you'd see fireworks or the guy you were magically supposed to be with and this ringing in of another year would create that spark needed to get you two together. Well my life definitely doesn't play out like it does in the movies. First I flew back to Virginia New Year's Eve which didn't give me much time to scope out who was home, who was hosting a party, and who I could finagle an innovation from said party. And I was sick with a wretched cold. I wasn't in the mood to ring in anything as the thought made my ears hurt. A friend invited me along to watch the Alexandria fireworks and even though I agreed, I knew it was going to be an utter disaster as the other friend believed watching the fireworks from her work building by the White House would give us the best view. For those who don't know DC geography, all you really need to know is the White House is not near Alexandria. Oh well. Happy 2015!

Can you spot the fireworks?

On a far more optimistic note, I traveled to California to meet my new niece over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. I'm saving vacation days for an upcoming European adventure so I worked on the plane. Gratefully, the wifi network held strong even when I connected to the vpn. Oh the wonders of modern technology!

Usually when I visit family, I rotate houses to spend time with everyone, but since I was only going to be there a few days it was much easier to travel back and forth between houses. Best plan ever. I spent time playing games with kids, attending my two nephews' Eagle Court of Honor, and holding the sweetest little girl. The trip was short. My jet lag was not. But seeing family was worth it.

Can you spot the photobomber?

She's so cute!

Sisters

So glad I got to meet her

My mountains

January also had me traveling to Toronto and exploring a bit of DC in winter. All good things.

I'll Be Home for Christmas

2015-03-11T20:55:00.000-06:00

Getting ready to fly home

Pentagon from the air

Beautiful sunset

Twas' the Night Before Christmas

And All Through the House

Christmas dinner

Relaxing together

Took some time but won this one over

Had fun doing a bit of this

And a bit of that

And got to celebrate my brother-in-law's New Year's Eve birthday

Birthday Month

2015-03-08T20:39:00.001-06:00

Do you know what's better than having your birthday in December? Actually knowing people where I live when it's my birthday. First on the agenda: Good Eats and free food. Got a free shake for it being my birthday.

Then off to the National Christmas tree. Apparently school children decorated each individual state tree. This year Google helped coordinate all the trees so all the state trees looked the same which made it quite lackluster.

How do you spell Tennessee? (See the generic state tree?)

A real tree exists under there somewhere

The next day we capped off the night with A Muppet Christmas Carol because why not. Day two we traveled to Harper's Ferry for An Olde Tyme Christmas which I thought would be a mix of Charles Dickens + southern charm + Christmas. What it really turned out to be was Civil War 1864 "the city was under martial law" Christmas. Turned out to be pretty cool just the same.

Civil War Santa and me

Harper's Ferry

Then the next week my friend and I went to dinner at Qdoba (one of my favorite quick food places) and then to see A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre. I wasn't sure what to expect as I love Hale Center Theatre's version and I didn't want to be disappointed. Well, I wasn't. It was fantastic! I loved it! Plus the setting could not have been better.

The week after my birthday, I gathered at Arlington National Cemetery with a few of my closest friends and thousands of other people to place wreaths on the graves. What a spiritual experience as we were asked to read the name of each soldier before placing a wreath on his or her grave, one by one. This individual act reminded so much of the work we perform in the temple. Very moving!

Afterwards, we grabbed lunch together. While eating, another friend invited me to the Antietam Luminaries that night, leaving around 10pm. I had to teach a lesson the next day and already had a jam packed day so of course I said yes. Once again, my reckless care for my sleep and need to feed my adventurous spirt paid off. My birthday week was top notch!

Antietam Luminaries

Awe-inspiring

Finally, I was not going to go another Christmas without a tree. Craigslist to the rescue. I found a tree for $25 and it was the best money I spent. Merry Christmas!

Yes the tree topper is Mickey Mouse Santa hat

A friend and me at the White House right before Christmas

The Happiest Place on Earth

2015-02-28T08:44:00.001-07:00

For the past year, I'd planned on spending my birthday at Disneyland. I love Christmas and Disney does Christmas well. One thing after another derailed those plans and I made alternate plans. During the derailing, my sister invited me to join her family the weekend before Thanksgiving, which would have been great as the last few times I've gone to Disneyland it has been with her family during the holiday season. However, flight prices during that time were astronomical. I had a small flying window as I was saving vacation days for a big trip next year and money to buy a place. Not being able to justify the cost, I declined my sister's invitation. Painful decision.

Well about two weeks before the said trip, my sister emailed me saying, "I’m just confirming that you are not coming with us to Disneyland. I made some dining reservations, and I included you on those reservations. I’m going to be fined if you don’t show up, so I need to either take you off the reservation, or I just need to know that you are actually coming……"

Fate had intervened. I had the thought to look at flights with my frequent flier miles and I found one that fit exactly in my flight window. After a call to my mom for a sanity check, I booked the flight. What my mom actually said to me when I asked her if I was crazy was "No more crazy than driving to Vegas for cheesecake. You should go." (Aside: my sister and I drove from Provo to Vegas once to buy my mom cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory for her birthday. This was when gas was $1.50 and Utah didn't have a Cheesecake Factory yet.)

Absolutely no regrets from this trip. We had the best time! Three of my favorite moments: watching my nephew play with his high school band along main street, being the last on Space Mountain at 12:30am and my niece pointing to the Olaf house with Elsa and Anna inside and saying, "I want to get in that line." I love Disneyland at Christmas with my family.

Thanks to her dad, she got to see Elsa and Anna.

Isn't it magical?

A Time of Thanksgiving

2015-02-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

With November comes the colors of Fall. I loved driving around the small, narrow roads near my house seeing the arrays or orange, red, and yellow.

On November 11th, HBO sponsored the Concert for Valor on the Washington Mall. I met up with a friend after work and we were so far back that we had to watch on one of these screens. Not a big deal because the concert was fantastic! I later showed my 14-year-old niece the picture of Carrie Underwood and asked my niece if she knew who was in the picture. She responded she didn't know but that the woman looked familiar. I then showed her the picture of the guy in the second picture. My niece replied simply "That's Metallica." You can see how my brother has influenced his kids' taste in music.

After the concert, we walked around the monuments. The lighting was perfect!

The warm weather quickly cooled right in time for the half marathon. Start time was 25 degrees and it was only 30 degrees at the finish. I've never run a more frigid race, but I finished in 2:01. I had mixed feelings because I really wanted to see 1:59. Oh well. I'm going to keep pushing myself and try again next year.

Thanksgiving involved a 4K turkey trot with friends. We ran from Gravelly point to the Jefferson Monument. Though we are bundled up, the weather cooperated with minimal wind and tepid temperatures.

The day after Thanksgiving I met up with friends at the botanical gardens to see the train and monument displays that were created all in natural materials (bark, leaves, stems, plants, etc.) I wish my nieces and nephews were around because they would love the displays. And if I'm honest, my dad would have loved the trains too.

Running, Running, Running

2015-02-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

October was mostly spent training for the Richmond Half-Marathon. The weeks were filled with five to six mile runs with the weekends being double that. Unfortunately I put my weekend adventures on hold until I finished training for this race. I felt good about my time and how strong I was getting. For my 12-mile run, my visiting teacher drove me to Herndon and I ran back to my car in Falls Church. Great motivation for not stopping!

The beginning of a 12-mile run

One weekend was a mid-singles conference and one event was held at the French Embassy. I'd been there before and didn't the venue was worth the hype being placed on it. Oh well. Still had fun with friends.

Friends at the French Embassy

Friend at the French Embassy

Facetime for the twins' birthday

The last week of October my good friend Mel came to visit. Mel, Cheryl (good friend who lives close-by), and I were able to enjoy some time together and endure the ritual we call Halloween. I love when my friends are in town!

Trunk-or-treat? Kids have it too easy

Avengers

Roommates together again

Happy Halloween!

Plowing Forward

2015-02-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

I'm so close to getting caught up on life I can't stop now. September can be summed up in one word: adventure. I'd get bored sitting at home and would be afraid to call others to see if something was going on, so I'd pick a place to visit each weekend. I didn't want to feel that my life revolved around sitting: sitting at work, sitting at home, sitting at church, sitting. So off I went.

Weekend One: Fort Necessity Battlefield.
When Kath and I drove into the Maryland we kept seeing all these historical signs but it was dark and had no clue what we were seeing. I knew that I'd want to travel that same road in the daylight and I finally got my chance. Fort Necessity was my destination but...wow! So many unexpected landmarks and historical sites: Cumberland, the first National Road, Fort Necessity (Washington's only surrender), Braddock's road, first shots of the French and Indian War, and the most beautiful scenery I could imagine.

Mind the Gap

Cumberland

Fort Necessity

General Braddock grave (French and Indian War)

Remains of old 1700 roads

First shots of French and Indian War fired here

I loved this lake!

Capping it all off with a visit to the temple

Weekend Two: Antietam
The following week was the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. I didn't want to be there during the anniversary because I hate crowds. This way I had the place mostly to myself. I also discovered the Appalachian Trail and did a bit of hiking as I found the first Washington Monument.

Cornfields of Antietam

Found the spot this where this picture was taken

Sunken Road

Appalachian Trail

Iwo Jima at sunset

Weekend Three and September 11th: Mount Vernon and Pentagon Memorial

Pentagon 9/11 Memorial

Mount Vernon

What's September without a little baseball?

Weekend Four: Utah!
I had meetings in San Francisco and spent a few days in Utah after that.

Meeting Jack

My mountains

First selfie

I asked him to smile :)

Creating mischief

Weekend Five: Fort McHenry
The week before was the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Fort McHenry and the Star-Spangled Banner lyrics but once again, I didn't want to battle the crowds and the rain was pretty bad in Baltimore. I'm glad I went this weekend as the sun was bright and the skies were clear. I loved being here and need to come back and explore the surrounding areas.

Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry looking towards Baltimore Harbor

August Adventures

2015-02-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

August = baseball games, Toronto, running, exploring, camping, and Sound of Music.

Mormon night at the Nats game

Can you spot the missionaries?

Toronto's CN Tower

View of Roger's Stadium, home of the Blue Jays, from top of the CN Tower

Lake Ontario from the top of the CN Tower

Kennedy Center from Georgetown

View from my morning run

Great Falls

Josh Groban crew

Lawn seats at the Josh Groban concert

Camping with my boys

Sound of Music sing-along

Happy Birthday America

2015-02-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

I expected July to be hot, humid, muggy, miserable. Thanks to a hurricane off the coast, all the humidity was pulled out to sea and the day cooled off to a nice seventy-five degrees. With baseball in the morning and fireworks in the evening and friends filling the day, I could not have had a better Fourth of July.

The rest of the month was pretty good too. I had a conference in San Francisco so I went out early and spent time with my brother and sister in Sacramento. Running in the morning, playing in the pool in the afternoon, and laughing in the evening made for a perfect time. Glad I got to visit with them.

On the way home from the conference, I detoured in LA and spent time with my friend who lives near the beach. I'm such a beach body. One day I sought out a beach we'd visit when I was a kid. When I found it, memories came flooding back with sand castles, body surfing, and a hundred stairs up and down to get to the beach. I love California!

Of course, I also explored DC on Sundays, hiked in the Shenandoahs, and visited Wolf Trap. Really a great summer!

Kayaking on the Potomac

My Favorite People

2015-02-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

In June we had our family reunion in Utah. The weather disrupted our initial plans as cold, rainy weather hounded the state. All of that mixed with a few unfortunate encounters with others resulted in over half of us being sick with one kind of bug or another. In spite of that we had a great time as we celebrated my sister and her husband's wedding in Utah with our side of the family, played at the cabin, and spent time catching up with one another.

Mighty Majestic Mountains

My wake up call

Too many monkeys jumping

She didn't think I could lift her

Hiking Stewart Falls

Bowling at BYU

Family birthday party

Bow and arrow at the cabin (Yes I hit the target)

My siblings

My family

My Favorite Place

2015-02-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

My sister planned a two week adventure on the east coast for her kids and invited me to join them. Work really does get in the way of me having fun sometimes. Gratefully that week, United airlines had a discount ticket available and two days later I was in my favorite place in the states: Charleston, South Carolina. I love this place and I loved sharing it with my sister and her family. They arrived a day before me so I missed Charles Towne Landing and Fort Sumter, but I had been to both those places a few years ago which made it mostly okay.

Right after a torrential rainstorm hit

USS Yorktown

Hanging around in the market

Angel Oak

South Battery

East Battery

Magnolia Plantation

My niece and I on a ride around the plantation

Middleton Place

Folly Beach

Merry Old Month of May

2015-02-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

May really kicked off my hashtag of discoveringDC as I continued to explore and enjoy my old and new friendships on the east coast.

Love when the Ball family comes to town

Ball family

Love the beautiful spring weather

Roommates together again

Embassy day

At the Czech Republic ambassador's home

Spring flowers everywhere!

Bought my first piano

Birthdays at Gravelly Point

First Nats game of the season

Outer Banks

Wright Brothers Memorial

More of April

2015-02-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

A few more pictures in April...

Flying into Reagan

My favorite boys

My niece sent this to me. Brightened my day.

First Visitors

2015-02-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

My parents and my sister's family came for a visit in April. We had a great time at the Cherry Blossom Festival and seeing all the other DC sites including all the monuments, Smithsonian, Monticello, Colonial Williamsburg, White House, Gettysburg, Mt. Vernon. With my 300 pictures, my dad's 400, and my sister's 700, I have no way to share all that we did. Here's a highlight:

Monticello

Tidal basin

Outside my apartment

Mt. Vernon

Gettysburg

Williamsburg

Monuments

Lincoln Memorial

3 Raymon Hales

Air and Space Museum

White House Tour

Capital Building

Dessert at my place

Arlington Cemetery

Iwo Jima

Favorite spot in the city

Washington DC Temple

Somebody's Getting Married

2015-02-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

No not me. My sister Kathrine. Her wedding and my parents missionary homecoming highlighted the month of March.

Yay they're home!!

I join many parties virtually

My mom and her sisters

We take Rook very seriously (not really)

Home

I love flying into Utah. Beautiful!

In the mean time, I finally bought couches. My Virginia home is almost complete.

Now on to a good Texas wedding...

All the siblings and a few in-laws

Chillin with the one of the few nephews who made the trip

Visited the JFK museum before the wedding

Quick bite of Texas BBQ before heading to the bridal shower and wedding

Results of the best bridal shower pedicure party I ever hosted

Selfie after the wedding

My sister and her new family

The Longest Month

2015-02-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

I avoided Canada in January. Too much cold. Too much snow. Unfortunately I didn't escape traveling there in February. First, Canada knows how to clear roads fast. Second, when four blocks stand between your office and your hotel, you survive the cold by stopping at strategic points along the way: caramel hot chocolate, macarons, and Tim Hortons.

The snow kept coming and coming Virginia. This was my car after a day of constant snowing. I did what any self-respecting Utah girl would do: I suited up and dug out my car.

The morning after...

Surprisingly, a week later, it warmed up enough for me to get out and tackle my first run in four months. My legs ached in a good way.

New Year

2015-02-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

I made it back from Utah just in time to celebrate the new year. This month I really made the effort to get to know new people and started establishing some good friendships. I also started exploring when the weather wasn't too cold.

Built a bookshelf. Still don't have a couch.

Library of Congress

Reading room in the Library of Congress

Capitol on a warm, sunny day

The next day

Why I love my family

Month Long Celebration

2015-02-12T19:46:00.001-07:00

Having just moved to the area, I didn't know what to expect of December. You see this is my favorite time of the year. My birthday. Christmas. Snow. Lights. Family. Though I hardly knew anyone, I loved December.

Events in December

#1 My birthday. My relief society president happened to call me that afternoon and discovered it was my birthday. She brought me to lunch and made a big deal about my birthday.

#2 Visited Antietam Battlefield for their annual luminary event. 22,000+ luminaries covered the battlefield and touched me in a way no other event had. Sobering. Absolutely sobering.

Volunteers placing and lighting the luminaries

The line at 4pm for a 6pm opening

#3 First visit to Canada. With my boss being located in Toronto, I expected this would become a regular occurrence. Little did I realize then how often I would make this trip.

#4 Wreaths at Arlington Cemetery. I planned to be part of this event next year.

#5 Svir family. I love having friends nearby who welcome me into their home. I feel like part of the family.

#6 Christmas with family in Utah. Oh how grateful I am for a boss who let me work remotely so I could spend time with family.

Made It!

2014-10-15T17:53:00.000-06:00

Finally made it to Virginia and November. My catch up should go fast now. The first two weeks in Virginia I stayed at my college roommates place in Leesburg. Both she and her husband said I could stay as long as I needed to. Gratefully, I found a place so I didn't outstay that welcome. My new place charged me to move in on a weekend, and I wasn't about to pay that fee. I convinced the guys at my work to move my stuff in and in return I'd buy them all pizza. Worth the $50. Easiest move I've ever had.

Walk near Leesburg

Balls Bluff Battlefield

Roommates' kids

I spend most of the month acclimating myself to the area, getting lost on random roads, finding cool things from getting lost, and catching up with old friends. Staying in Virginia for Thanksgiving felt odd as I was used to being surrounded by family, but friends who were in town during that time made up for it and I discovered how much I love exploring.

Friends for 30+ years

Georgetown

Iwo Jima

Arlington Cemetery

Ford's Theatre

White house selfie with Anna

Lincoln Memorial

Birthday treat (a week early)

Wonder of Wonder, Miracle of Miracles

2014-10-15T17:21:00.000-06:00

I live here now.

Well not exactly here. More like here.

Getting to this point in life has been full of unexpected paths and detours. However, once I made the decision to accept the job offer and move east, miracle after miracle came and witnessed to me that this was the right decision.

Making it to the Denver airport at the exact moment my sister needed to be picked up. You see, I left Utah a bit later than planned (surprise, surprise) and I feared she'd be waiting for me, which is never a good way to start a road trip. Her plane from Dallas landed 30 minutes late and we met right on time.
Getting my new cell phone the day before I was supposed to leave Utah. Lesson learned: never port your number in or out of your employer. Utter nightmare.
Squeezing one more eye doctor appointment in and having significant improvement in my vision. Good thing too since I was about to start a 3000 mile road trip. More on this later.
Having my moving POD dropped off at the perfect time and picked up the next day to be shipped to Virginia. It all worked flawlessly. I also couldn't have done it without good friends helping me pack.
Have you ever driven across country with anybody? My sister and I laughed, joked, talked, gabbed, slept, etc. for 60+ hours straight without any arguing, bickering, eye rolling, etc. Miracle!
Being able to stay with cousins in both Denver and St. Louis. What a blessing both of them were as my sister and I traveled.
Arriving at your destination with ZERO car problems. That's 3000 miles. No trouble whatsoever.

Somewhere in Ohio
Finding a place to live that I like, that's close to work, that's affordable in only two days. Mission accomplished.
Having a seven minute commute...in Virginia.

Traffic one night when I was safely at home.
Figuring out how to get first month's rent and an equal security deposit as a money order from your bank in Utah. Let's just say the US Post Office saved the day after direct inspiration from the Lord. Huge miracle!
Moving into a gated condo community was a hassle, especially with restricted moving times and the $500 charge to move in on a weekend. What's a girl to do? Go visit the POD company, arrange a same day delivery and pickup, and convince your new co-workers to help you unload on a Friday morning. 35 minutes later and the moving was completed. Even the POD people were surprised with how quickly the guys unloaded my stuff.

Fit perfectly in my parking space
Being able to stay with my friend in Leesburg for two weeks during the condo application process and moving coordination. It wasn't in the plan but I became great friends with the entire family.

My surrogate nephews
Getting permission from my boss two weeks into the new job to work remotely so I can be with family on Christmas.
Running into friends from years past the first week I was in town. I've had an immediate friend base since then.
Attending the family ward the first time and know that's exactly where I need to be. How does anyone move without the church? Instant ward family!
Having a Relief Society President be inspired to tell me about the closest macaron store without knowing how much I love those little treats. Plus she spoiled me on my birthday. The Lord watches out for us in all things!
Feeling no homesickness and absolutely certain with each step that this move was exactly what I needed in my life and that the Lord was involved with each detail in my life.

More pictures and stories to come. I have much to say and have kept quiet for too long.

And so it begins

2014-10-15T17:19:00.000-06:00

1. Old job - I started out the month helping interview for my replacement. No one really stood out to me and my friend in Palo Alto reminded me when I was there visiting in September that "It's not my problem." Having multiple friends in HR has been very helpful.

My friend Annie

My friend Karen

My "Legit 50" crew

Domo rooster

So I can remember when they make it big

2. New job - The old job ended on a Friday and the new one started on a Monday. I didn't quite know what to expect and since I hadn't heard from my new boss, I spent the day packing for my move across the country. The next day I flew to San Francisco for our annual users conference where I met too many people and spent too much time helping people from the old job figure out what I had been doing. Apparently my efforts the last few months to do knowledge transfer fell on deaf ears.

Advocate friends from Deer Valley ski trip

3. Running - In the middle of all of this, I was training for a half marathon. I really enjoyed starting the race with two of my sisters and my niece. They finished well ahead of me but I still finished close to my goal (only five minutes slower).

Halloween Half

Finished!

4. Last minute things - I had time to get in one more cabin trip, one more BYU football game, and one more last goodbye. Tears fell multiple times.

My home :(

Cabin time

Cabin memories

Skyline drive at sunset

One more football game

One more story with Max

One more Fairbanks group hug

One more Woolston group hug

5. Eyes - I was at the eye doctor every 2-3 days. I was there so often the receptionist would call me out by name telling me she had already checked me in as I walked through the door. The doctor prescribed two different types of antibiotic drops, two different types of steroid drops, and multiple natural tears drops. My wallet hurt. My eyes hurt. And I still couldn't see clearly. I could only see clearly once I used the natural tears. Yes I drove. But my vision was only slightly worse than before the surgery so I knew how to compensate. Gratefully, the infection cleared and I had minimal to no scarring on my eyes. I continued the steroid and regular eye drops until Christmas when I saw the doctor again. Everything healed beautifully and I can see perfectly. It just took a long process to get me there.

Too many drops

6. Moving - My sister stepped into my mom's shoes and helped me drive across country. I decided to have everything shipped since I didn't know exactly where I'd be moving. Best decision! I had two cousins (one in Colorado and one in Missouri) who let us stay at their homes. Early November 1st, my sister and I rolled into Virginia...my new home. (See post here about the moving process.)

Eastern Colorado

Western Kansas

Eastern Kansas

St. Louis

Endure to the End

2014-10-05T17:54:00.000-06:00

You know those moments where you finally sit down to finish a project, push save, refresh and realize nothing saved. Welcome to September. This post has already been written so the second go-around will probably not be as detailed, which is good for you as the previous one tended to push the TMI limits.

Source of my strength through all of this craziness!

First, the job: I finally (Whew!) received a phone call from the recruiter telling me he could officially extend the offer. So began actually applying for the job so he could move through the process, negotiating salary (thanks to my HR friend who helped me with my skills), background check, and three weeks later (seriously?!) I had an email letting me know I was moving to Virginia!

Offer letter

Second, how my boss took it: her jaw dropped as she slunk into her chair. She tried to the "whatever they offered you, we'll match it". No they couldn't. I had a really, really good offer. I gave her two weeks and she asked for three. Considering I didn't like the idea of going without a paycheck and I wanted to leave on good terms regardless of all that happened, I agreed to three weeks.

Third, family time: I took some time to check on things at my parents' house and my two nieces agreed to the quick 3-hour round trip drive. We ended the day at a pool party which is how all summers should end: by the pool. Later my aunt and I attended the James Taylor with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert. Honestly, I didn't know most of his singles and neither did my aunt. Still a good time.

G-town with a Planes character

James Taylor concert

Fourth, football: I needed one more weekend in California and a friend had offered one of his tickets to the ASU v. Stanford game. In reality, this date didn't go that well. We had met once and hit it off, but for some reason this date really shut off any potential. Probably didn't help that I was moving across the country. Oh well. At least I got to see a football game. Another friend of mine offered me a ticket to the Texas v. BYU football game. That started about as bad as the Stanford date but ended on a much better note. I had never seen rain like this in Utah and only a few times here in Virginia. Wow!

Stanford stadium

BYU game right before the storm moved in

Storm coming

The crowd cheering as the clouds moved in

Winning the game

Fifth, running: I decided I wasn't working out and started training for a half-marathon in October. That's what I do. When I need to get healthy, I sign up for half-marathons. Not 5Ks. Half-marathons.

Sixth, being blinded: My eyesight started weakening from my LASIK surgery seven years ago. I wasn't surprised. I knew it could happen. I went from wearing coke-bottle glasses to seeing. Modern-day miracle in my opinion. But I had all this money saved up in my HSA account and I figured I should use it and touch up the LASIK. Long (very, very, very) story short. The day I went in for surgery, we discovered I had an eye infection. Many bottles of antibiotics and doctor's appointments, my eyes were primed for PRK surgery as I wasn't a candidate for LASIK after this long. FYI, PRK is harder to recover from, especially when you try and run 8 miles the next day and a different infection decides to attack your eyes rendering you blind (or at least an out of focus camera lens). Thus began a three month long journey.

Just the beginning

Patiently Waiting

2014-09-14T21:42:00.000-06:00

Painful doesn't begin to describe August. Imagine trying to do a job and create and implement long-term plans all the while you know you are leaving. Well, you think you are. The company keeps reassuring you they want to hire you and once September hits they can. The limbo of emotions drove me crazy. So, I did what any sane person would do, I went to DisneyWorld to celebrate my sister's birthday.

That week ended up being crazy! I confirmed weeks in advance that I could be on vacation that week in August, and right before I went, marketing and sales decided to implement a new sales paradigm that required me to help with the new integration. Not happy. I ended up working before and after our Orlando adventures. Did I say I wasn't happy? That didn't help with the see-saw emotions. Another sister sent her two sons to join us which made for a great time.

Sea World

NASA

Atlantis Space Shuttle - NASA

NASA

Downtown Disney - Sleeping Beauty all done in Legos

Epcot - Happy Birthday Kath!

Epcot

This may have been breakfast and dinner

Epcot

Animal Kingdom

I also had the chance to attend BYU MBA's marketing adventure in Moab. It reminded me of being a first year student and I had a great time networking with fellow alumni and old friends.

Corona Arch

Delicate Arch

When the scriptures talk about enduring to the end, I think August sums up that scripture perfectly.

These are the kinds of texts I get from my brother. Love him!

Nephew's blessing day

Many faces of Max

Helping him rock climb

Virginia Visit

2014-09-07T21:00:00.001-06:00

The day I flew to Virginia I had my second interview with Eloqua (technically Oracle since they bought Eloqua six months ago). I prepped myself for all types of questions and found I spoke probably 10% of the time. It was more about letting me know what I was getting in for. I felt good about things and flew out to DC. My friend Jon was great and helped arrange a place for me to stay and a few Fourth of July activities.

4th of July BBQ

Crowds gathered to watch the fireworks at the Jefferson Memorial

Jon also let me borrow his car to explore some Civil War Battlefields. That morning as I was driving, I got a call from the recruiter expecting to hear whether or not he was going to set up more interviews. He offered me the job instead! I was ecstatic!! Here I was in Virginia trying to figure out if I should move there and all these answers came pointing to a resounding yes! It was only 10am by this point and I called my sister in Utah hoping she was awake since it was a holiday. My favorite phone call was to my aunt who knew the depth of the trials and heartache I was feeling. I had such a great time at the battlefields and ended up just skimming through four because I knew I'd be back. I loved knowing I was going to be back.

Maybe a bit of overload

Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg (Union soldiers charged up this hill)

Chancellorsville

That night Jon and I explored the monuments and we basically had the place to ourselves. Apparently the day after the 4th of July is when you want to visit the monuments. No one wants to venture back downtown.

My favorite monument at night

I flew home on cloud nine. However, my life being what it was, I hit a roadblock. The recruiter called me back the next week with troubling news. Kinks were still being worked out due to the acquisition and apparently the product team had a hiring freeze and the team couldn't officially offer me the job until September. The recruiter and I talked things over with an understanding that I wanted the job and he wanted to offer it. Thus began two agonizing months of trying to wait patiently. This scenario surfaced many hidden feelings I'd kept bottled up and I felt myself losing it and experiencing past disappointments. My mom asked me if I was running and when I told her no, she responded, "I think you need to start running again. That seems to work for you." And she was right. Running has become the perfect therapy for me. So I ran my first official 5K race with my sister and niece at the end of July.

Temple to temple 5K