Craisins

I love craisins. They are delicious. I had no idea! I'm still not sold on cranberry juice, gross. But yay for craisins!!

Phones

Last week, I got to work and realized that my phone was not working. I was absolutely ecstatic! I hate answering the phone, yet it is a big portion of my job. I answer the phone for everyone. I get all the roll-over calls from my 8 co-workers. Plus, my own line. Plus, the outside line (which is the only number listed on lds.org). Plus, the reception line. Basically, I answer phone calls all day long. So when my phone didn't work, I didn't stress out, at all. Then I remembered that my manager was gone and he told everyone to call me. Small stress. So they fixed my phone quite quickly, but it wasn't set up the same as before. Totally fine. We're getting a new phone system in a month. I can deal with it.

Fast forward to Thursday afternoon.

I have been swamped with work and actually been able to get through it all with hardly any distractions. I was really enjoying this thought, when suddenly it dawned on me...I've been getting a TON of voicemail, but don't really think I've purposefully ignored the call, or even heard it ring. Why? So I hurriedly emailed the lady in charge of phones, and sure enough, my line for the reception & outside calls had not been ringing. She activated that and viola! The phone was blissfully ringing steady for the rest of the day, and my inability to complete a project in a timely manner returned. Glory.

Do I feel bad? Well, yeah, kind of, it is part of my job after all. But it was so nice to maintain concentration and get so much accomplished. So back to answering the phones, back to being service oriented, back (sorry, the phone just rang) to life.

Brothers

I just want to give a little shout out to my 3 brothers. I've been thinking a lot about them, so here goes.

1) The Giggler: He is funny. He makes others laugh. And when he starts to laugh, it's usually this giggle that is so contagious. Plus, he's a hard worker and does it with a smile. Such a good nature! And he has the cutest little relationship with his son (and the next one is going to benefit, too). I recently read "The Great Brain" and realized that me and this brother fit perfectly into this scenario. I think he swiddled me out of money, etc., but I just think he's the greatest. A total hero in my book.
2) The Baker: Really, he makes the best cookies. Ever. And he was kind enough to bless me with some when I visited him in Maine. Plus, he's just fun. We used to play mariokart for hours. And he'd pull out candy and share it, always. His kids know that he is the source of all fun, and they just fawn over him. And he's really smart. Who else would read encyclopedias for fun?
3) The Traveler: This brother just completed the biggest & greatest family vacation in the history of the world. 8 people to the other side of the world for 2 weeks. That is no easy task. Plus, he totally drove in Kenya...a lot. Not a desirable task for anyone. I'm proud of him for doing that, relieving some stress on my dad's part, and not having any accidents. Wow. Plus, all family members showed love, even at the end of the 33 hours from Nairobi to SLC. That is a gift. This brother just bestows a lot of love on everyone. And he built his own house.

I just admire my brothers in so many ways. Just thinking about it makes me realize how little I actually know about my brothers. But I konw I love them and they love me. And I know they don't read my blog, so it's not like I'm getting cute little sister points for this. I am grateful that they are the priesthood representatives in my family that live in America. They are noble.

Eyes

Today I'm grateful for my eyes.

They hurt like crazy and have huge sensitivity right now. I keep having to take breaks to give them a rest. It's probably because of the lack of sleep :0) I just hope the cold didn't move to my eyes. Yuck.

During all this "grief," I realized how grateful I am for my eyes. They do so much! My life can't be done without them. I'm always afraid of going blind...could be that I have horrible eye sight and that's actually possible. But that's a huge fear in my life. I don't want to miss seeing anything. I have seen some incredible things in my life, things that a camera will never do justice. And what an amazing experience that has been.

Colors are incredible, people are beautiful, and this world is majestic.

Yes, I am very grateful for my eyes.

"My favorite color is blue, like the ocean, and my eyes...would you like a swim?" ~Delicate

Elevators

I work on the 18th Floor. I ride the elevator a lot. Today, when my co-worker was surrounded by other riders, unnecessarily, I realized how amusing this part of the day is to me.

There are a few methods to riding an elevator:
The single rider...stand where ever you want. Just don't adjust anything, there are cameras.
The double rider...stand on either side of the cart.
The triple rider...line up on the back wall OR if you get on at different times, there may more of a triangle shape.
The Crowd...cram as many people as possible.

Tips:
Avoid eye contact.
All conversation must end upon entrance.
Always face the door...not the lovely people who are already in the elevator.
Space...it's all about space. The law of "splitting the difference" ought to be applied.
If there are people in front of you who are getting off on your floor, let them get off first.
Don't risk your life by sticking your arm out to keep the doors from closing, just wait for the next elevator.
Always make sure you are pushing the right button. It does no good to get in an elevator and push the current floor button. Just saying.
Cell phones aren't guaranteed to work while in the elevator. End the conversation before entering the lift.
If you're only going one floor, just use the stairs. It's actually faster.

Any disruption to these socially acceptable methods causes discomfort & anxiety to other riders.

I'd like to meet the lady who provides the voice for the elevators. She seems nice.

Little Pieces of Heaven

Right now I am suffering for a horrible cold. I tried to avoid it, and then encourage it, and now I'm ready to be done and have a normal breath back. Here are a few pieces of heaven that I'm enjoying while I'm sick.

~ Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with mint, compliments to my brother Rob, and cheers to me for not scarfing them on the flight home from Maine.
~ Pajama pants & t-shirts. I wish I could wear this combination all day, every day.
~ Emails from Kenya. Moms always have just the right thing to say to make you feel better.
~ Disney movies.
~ Letters. I just got one that had a picture of my nephew. Love it.
~ Seeing dear friends. I made it to work today, and had a conference in Provo. While waiting for it to start, I turned around and saw an old mission companion. She totally made my day. Then in the meeting I got bored, so I texted another friend and she came to visit during the conference. Icing.
~ Yoga. There is a pose called, "little piece of heaven." Doesn't really fit my definition of it, but I still enjoy yoga.
~ Benadryl. Which I will be taking shortly.
~ Yummy smells. Like cinnamon and home-made stew.
~ Eye masks & ear plugs. Thanks Jet Blue for providing this.

Live in Thanksgiving Daily

I love this month. I was reading in the Book of Mormon, and it says "Live in Thanksgiving Daily" (Alma 34:38) I wish I was better at this. But in this month of November, I'm going to focus my thoughts on what I'm grateful for.

~I'm thankful that hymns make me happy

~I'm thankful for hiccups. The guy next to me on trax today reminded me of it.

~I'm thankful for airplanes. I am in awe at the capacity of them, that they get me around the world to see my family, and it allows me to see the grandeur of this earth, both on land and in the sky.

~I'm thankful that I don't like snakes.

~I'm thankful for the gospel and the direction it has given me. That sounds so broad, but I know that happiness is a direction, and by living the gospel I have found great happiness, and that happiness will continue.

Forward Messages

Today at work I got a forward email from a lady from another department. Figuring it had something to do with Intellectual Property, I opened it. Nope. Not at all. I don't know why she sent it to me and the other paralegals.
So what exactly is the protocol for forwarding emails? I know the big rush of forwarding isn't as big as it used to be, maybe that's why I'm still confused about the whole situation.
So really, I have no idea why I felt the urge to write this. Sorry.

Oh, and I had a wonderful time in Maine. wow. I am fully prepared to move there, or at least have a summer cottage there.