Lesson for the Day

I've had 14-15 hours of total sleep the past three nights. I'm physically and emotionally spent from the fun-filled weekend. As I was contemplating something that happened over the weekend and how I wanted to react, I saw this line hanging next to my desk: When in doubt, default to calm and kind. I'm not angry about anything, but that advice just hit me. No matter what the situation in life, that default button seems to be the best answer.

Today I am grateful that my room is almost clean after traveling for the past two weeks, that after two months of planning things are finally starting to slow down, and that I am going to bed at 10:00 tonight. Life is good.

One of Those Nights

You know those nights where you know you should go to bed early, especially since you are on the sixth day of being sick with a cold, have been working long hours at work, and are completely exhausted? Well, that's me tonight. I really should have gone to bed hours ago. Oh well. I can always try again tomorrow. :)

Gratitude Day 25

1- Sleeping in. Usually we go to my aunt's house for Thanksgiving. This year all of my siblings were in town and we had Thanksgiving at my parents' house. Joyous day because I was able to sleep in! I really enjoyed not having to travel back and forth this year.

2- Financial security. Even though I do not have a full time job yet, it is comforting to know I am financially secure. I followed the philosophy of "live like a student while you are student" the past few years. Even though I was used to a steady income before graduate school, cutting back while in school has saved me from many headaches.

3- Comfort of family. We all have our family stories and mine is not immune. Despite this, they are a comfort to me. I appreciate their counsel, their perspective, and their love. My life has never been "normal". For some reason the most random or unexpected experiences happen to me. Because of this, they have never failed to support me in my decisions. I truly am blessed to be part of my family.

Gratitude Day 3

1- Cell Phones. My grandparents corresponded with letters back and forth. Phone calls were quite the rarity. When people did call one another, apparently the whole town could listen in on the conversation (or maybe it was just the operator). I'm grateful for the ability to talk with those I love whenever I want.

2- Afternoon naps. Though I had other work to do, this just hit the spot today.

3- Folded laundry. Yes, I know that I am the one responsible for completing this task, but it feels so nice when it is finally all put away after sitting for more days than I should admit.

Things of the Past

One thing I dealt with as a child were constant ear infections, tonsillitis, and strep throat. I remember being sick often. Once the tonsils were removed and tubes put in my ears, I had a much healthier life. I was still paranoid if my throat or ears ever hurt but gratefully I haven't been plagued with these issues since the two surgeries I had as a child.

Unfortunately my weary body succumbed. Somehow I developed an ear infection in my left ear. It makes my head hurt. All I want to do is sleep. I am disappointed when I wake up and isn't any better. I had forgotten how aggravating an ear infection can be to living life. To you parents whose kids suffer, be patient. Ear infections are not fun for us either.

Sometimes It IS All About Me

My life has been one crazy, hectic mess since January. Needless to say, I was exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, academically, etc. So last week I imposed a break from school. I needed time for me. Time to relax, laugh, sleep, and enjoy life. Since the first block was over, I had one less class. Plus one of my other classes was canceled on Wednesday, another had only one case prep for the week, and I was released from the RS presidency the previous Sunday. So, I knew I would have some extra time for my unofficial Spring Break. I still made sure I was prepared with assignments, but I skimmed readings instead of thoroughly reading them. Okay one day I just skipped reading altogether. I figured at least I still went to class.

Here are some of the things I did to enjoy myself this past week:
* Cataloged my food storage so I knew what I owned. I hated going to the store and buying more of what I already owned. For example, I own 4 Costco sizes of peanut butter and I don't like peanut butter sandwiches.
* Bought off white church shoes. I have two cute skirts that I love wearing but have never liked my shoe options. I finally found a pair I liked!
* Used some Christmas gift cards. I now own cake pans.
* Bought and kept (yes this is a miracle) clothes from Ann Taylor Loft. Yay for new clothes!!
* Went bowling with my friends Erin and Julina. Our goal was to see who could get the highest MPH with the bowling ball. Erin won with 21 MPH. However, I did get the highest bowling score. :)
* Cleaned my room! I washed my sheets, rotated my mattress, organized and filed the piles of papers and souvenirs that were building up in my room, vacuumed, and reorganized some furniture. My room finally feels happy again.
* Invited friends over for fondue. I love fondue! We had a cheese fondue and a chocolate fondue. Yummy!
* Slept 7-9 hours a night. My poor body sure needed the rest.

Though this week is going to be another busy week, last week gave me enough of a boost to help me endure. Plus, I am going to Brian Regan which is going to be amazing!

I am officially done with my MBAA position on the Executive Council. My successor has been elected and it is time for me to pass the torch over to her. Slowly but surely my MBA time is coming to a close. I have loved being in school again and am excited to see where I am headed next, but truthfully what I really want is a week in Hawaii just to relax before starting the real world again.

Bad Habits

I've formed a very bad habit this past month. I fall asleep on the couch, wake up around 2am, then climb into my own bed. This has caused a crazy sleep schedule and me feeling exhausted. I know why this habit started but am not sure how to fix the cause; however, I am working on breaking the habit. For the past three nights I actually fell asleep in my own bed! Two of the three nights I slept well. Of course I went to bed after 1am both nights so that may have some explanation. My goal for this week is to go to bed in my own bed before midnight. No more falling asleep on the couch.

AOG - Day 25

1- I am grateful I was able to spend some time with my sister today. We rarely get to have one-on-one time. It was fun to catch up on life.

2- I am grateful to be at home for a few days. It's nice to escape from school every once in a while.

3- I am grateful to have a nice warm bed to sleep in when I visit my parents. Long story on that one but I'll just say the couch used to be my bed. Not any more! :)

AOG - Day 22

1- I am grateful for nine hours of sleep! Can you tell school has taken a toll on me? Getting sleep this weekend has helped me actually considering going to class this week.

2- I am grateful for good friends who talk with me through ideas and situations. Being in the RS Presidency has helped me more aware of the sisters in the ward; however those sisters seem to serve me more than I am able to serve them.

3- I am grateful for relaxing on the couch, listening to Christmas music, but really do nothing.

AOG - Day 21

1- I am grateful for ten hours of sleep! Blessed, blessed day!

2- I am grateful for fun times at the BYU football game but even more grateful for the warmth of my apartment after the game.

3- I am grateful for the beautiful music. I love the symphony and had the chance to hear Mahler's 2nd Symphony in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. Amazing!

AOG -Day 15

1- I am grateful for ten hours of sleep! Apparently I was really tired.

2- I am grateful for the power of pondering. When I don't have answers to questions it helps to sit and write my thoughts down on paper. As I work through these, I come up with answers. Most of the time, I discover things I didn't realize.

3- I am grateful for needing help. Often I am too independent and try to do things on my own. It is good for me to rely on others for help.

AOG - Day 12

1- I am grateful that I recognize when I'm being tired and irrational. Tonight I was feeling the effects of two short nights. On two separate occasions, I became jealous of two different girls. I had no reason to be jealous but that green monster started to creep inside of me. Gratefully, I had some sense left. I realized I was tired which was causing me to be irrational and pushed aside those jealous feelings...almost. :)

2- I am grateful for answered prayers. I heard in a RS lesson to prayer for specifics. Tonight I asked for three specific things. Two happened and I believe the other will come too.

3- I am grateful for my grandma. Grams is fabulous! I love talking with her on the phone and visiting her when I have a chance. I have sweet precious memories with Grams including feeding the ducks, walking along the golf course, getting ice cream, and having Rook tournaments. She truly is an amazing lady.

AOG - Day 11

1- I am grateful for warm blankets. I love cuddling up in a blanket and falling asleep on the couch. All I need now is a warm fire and Christmas music.

2- I am grateful for the five years I was a teacher. It has been so useful in many aspects of my life. I really hope I can find a job that combines education with business.

3- I am grateful we live in a technology age. It makes it easy to keep in touch with friends in Arizona, Japan, California, Ohio, Virginia, and England. So much fun!

AOG - Day 10

1- I am grateful for nine hours of sleep! Getting enough sleep sure makes it easier to handle the craziness that comes with being in MBA school.

2- I am grateful for the people in my teams at school. I have learned so much from those in the program especially those who I work with in teams.

3- I am grateful for my brother and sister-in-law. They invited me over for hot chocolate after my brother's intramural football game. It was fun to talk and laugh over hot chocolate. My new sister-in-law is a sweetheart and I am glad she is part of our family.

AOG - Day 7

1- I am grateful that rearranging my bedroom made that much of a difference. Such a simple change helped me sleep better.

2- I am grateful for Stake Conference and the uplifting messages that were given tonight.

3- I am grateful for all the great friends I have met the past year. I will miss them when we all graduate in April.

Sleeping Habits

Whenever my family visited my grandparents, my sisters and I always had to share a bed. Because of my erratic sleeping patterns, a groan was usually heard when one of my sisters found out they had to share with me. Most of the problems came because I stole all the covers, well not really stole but wrapped myself in them making it impossible for them to have any. Gratefully I have grown out of many these habits because I would go to sleep with intense fear that I would incur the wrath of my sister. Now that I have my own bed, I find I still have a few odd quirks that I don't mind sharing with the blogging world.

I like my pillows and feel lost when one is missing (I have three). I can't stand being too hot but need something covering me (which is a problem in the summer). If I go to sleep with socks on, inevitably they will be off in the morning. I have even woken myself up taking my socks off. I have a queen bed and I know which side I prefer. The craziest habit of all is I dislike getting ready for bed. I will avoid it all possible costs until I can reasonably justify falling asleep without doing said tasks. For those who laugh at this last one, I have five sisters just like me. :)

Gratitude - Day 22

1. I am grateful for sleep. The past four days I have averaged 10 hours of sleep a night. I am finally starting to feel better.

2. I am grateful for December birthdays. They make the Christmas season even better.

3. I am grateful I have a two day school week. I need a vacation.

Gratitude - Day 10

1. I am grateful for Dessert Night. What is that you ask? It all started many years ago after Lucille and Scott got married. Lu and I had lived 30 yards away from one another and saw each other at least 3-4 times a week. After she got married, our lives rarely crossed. Periodically, we would get together for dinner. By that time, Nettie was at school too and was part of our random outings. Finally we decided to schedule one day a week where we went out to eat and catch-up on each others' lives. Eventually that was getting expensive, Lucy and Scott had a kid, and little one needed to go to bed earlier than we were eating dinner. So we decided to change it to dessert. The rest is history. We have had other family members and cousins join our group through the years: Chris, Paul, Daniel, Andrew, Morgan, and others. I was so happy to hear that they continued the tradition when I moved to Phoenix and really excited when I moved back. I look forward to our weekly Dessert Night.

2. I am grateful for my ability to sleep anywhere. I was exhausted yesterday and needed to sleep. I went to the MBA lounge, curled up in a chair, and crashed for 30 minutes while everyone around me was chatting. Besides that small nap, I was awake for 20+ hours yesterday.

3. I am grateful for random phone calls. My mom and I were able to talk for a few minutes yesterday about nothing. I love talking with my mom.

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 2

1. I am grateful for the right to vote. Many people around the world do not have that opportunity. Even though our system isn't perfect, at least we have the option.

2. I am grateful for my dreams because they help me in my homework. I have a take-home case midterm that is due tomorrow. I read the case right before going to sleep, and in my dream, I worked out some of the major issues I should focus on solving. This is not the first time this has happened. Of course it isn't fun to write your 10 page paper in your dreams, and then wake up to realize you still have to write it.

3. I am grateful for a good night's sleep. I have been pushing myself for weeks and trying to survive on five hours. My body was crashing! The past few nights I have been able to get seven to eight hours and am starting to feel better.