A Midas Touch

I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to go to bat for the amazing employees who work for me. They have been a little bit abused and neglected for the past few years. I think they're still getting used to the idea of having a boss who will fight for them instead of throw them under the bus. It's been kind of fun to see their perspectives change. I had a request from an employee today. It was a very logical request. I told her I would do my best to make it happen. I had a monthly board meeting tonight and I proposed the request to the board (along with my very logical, researched information to back it up). There wasn't even a fight and the request was granted. I told my employee she is good to go and she was thrilled. She told me I have the Midas touch or something because I continue to make things happen that make her life easier. I'm so thankful to be in a position where I can do that! It makes for a rather fulfilling job!

Being caught up

I am so thankful that I am already feeling caught up at work. I was gone for 8 days on vacation, plus another day to help my body regroup. And it didn't even take me the whole day to get everything done. I suppose it helps that I get my work emails on my phone so I was able to keep up a bit on those! 

Rest

I spent my "day of rest" driving home from vacation. I didn't sleep well last night and I woke up this morning tired, worn out, and a little bit queasy. I wasn't really "sick," but I definitely was not feeling awesome. I weighed my options and eventually decided it would probably be best if I stayed home and took a day to rest and regroup. It was just what I needed. I know there is a lot of work to be done at my job, but sometimes it's better to let the work wait until you're 100% ready to take it on! I'm thankful for the rest I got today and I'm thankful to have a job that allows me to take a day when I need it. 

Home

I love, love, love vacations! I really loved spending the past few days with some of my family at the beach. I loved getting away. I loved sleeping in and eating out. I loved running at sea level. I loved laying in the sun all day and soaking in some serious vitamin D. I loved wearing a jacket (it got pretty cold on the coast!). I'm thankful for my mom, who made it all happen! And, I'm thankful for a great life that I'm ready to get back to after this great vacation. I'm thankful to have a home and a job to come back to! 

Color

I need a little color in my life and in my face. Operation "get burned to a crisp" has been a great success. I have great expectations for this to fade into a perfect tan! I'm so thankful for the past few days I've been able to spend at the beach and at the pool. It was fabulous. I'm trying really to figure out how I can be thankful for the 11 hour drive I get to make tomorrow....

The natural look

I haven't done my hair or put in make-up in 4 days. It's not my best look, but I don't care! I love vacation!!

Sunscreen

Because sometimes you commit the cardinal sin of vacations and get super sunburned on the first day! And when that happens, sometimes you still want to go out and enjoy the sun and beach. That's just about the only time I'm thankful for sunscreen. Today happens to be one of those times!  

The ocean

The beach is my happy place. There's something about the sun and the sand and sound of the waves crashing that just makes everything right with the world. I'm thankful for the day I got to spend at the beach and I'm thankful for a few more days to spend in my happy place. 

The view

For the next 6 days....

Vacation

I went to sleep last night at 10:00. I woke up this morning at 10:00. I love vacation! I know there's no such thing as "catching up on sleep," but if there was, that's what I'd be doing! I'm thankful for this vacation and the chance to sleep as late as I want! 

Blue Man Group

I saw the show for the first time tonight with my mom. It was fabulous! 

A late night 10K

I signed up to run a 10K tonight with a bunch of friends. It was a late night race (starts at 10:00) and runs along legacy parkway. A 10K is 6.2 miles. This route, which was supposedly a 10K was 8.5 miles. I'm a race director myself and I really don't know how you could be off by 2.3 miles!! But, I'm still thankful for the race. It was fun. I'm also thankful that I'm training to run longer than 10K right now so a couple extra miles wasn't too big if a deal! 

Dumb people

I had a very interesting conversation with a man who thought he knew everything about my rec center, specifically the budget. I'm thankful for the pure entertainment that conversation gave me. And I'm thankful for the entertaining reactions from other people when I told them the story later. Dumb people usually really bother me, but this guy was a crack up!

Gluten free frosting

One of my employees is having a baby. Well, his girlfriend is having a baby. They don't have much so I decided we needed to throw him a little baby shower. I told my employees that I would bring a treat. I decided to make gluten free cupcakes. I'm too lazy to make frosting so I bought some at the store. I opened the frosting and nearly started frosting the gluten free cupcakes. I just happened to glance at the label - wheat starch!!! It would have been so sad (and hilarious) if I glutened myself with store bought frosting! I'm thankful I caught it and I'm thankful for the new frosting I bought, which actually was gluten free!

A system that works

There's a swimming pool at my rec center. It gives me anxiety. It's hard to fathom that teenagers are life guarding that pool. Literally, people's lives are in the hands of teenagers. But today I got to see first hand that they are capable of that! An individual had a seizure in the pool. Our lifeguards responded just how they should. The fire department and the ambulance arrived quickly. I'm so thankful that everything turned out okay. I'm thankful to know that our system works. And I hope to never have to see it work again! 

Knowledge to share

I really believe that the majority of the experiences I have, I have to be able to help other people. That's what this life is all about - learning, and using what we learn to help and love others. I'm thankful for the knowledge I have to share. I have some dear friends putting together a benefit 5K race. We have been exchanging emails for a few days now and it just brings me so much joy! I love organizing races and I hope my friends will continue to let me help!

The Shasta vending machine

1:00 church is rough for me! I don't like it. Part of what I don't like is the time after church. It's too late to take a nap, it's too early to go to bed. Krista and I have developed a routine for the Sundays when there's nothing else going on. We get a redbox movie and can of soda from the Shasta vending machine. I'm thankful for our little tradition. How could you not be thankful for 35 cent sodas?

Ragtime

I fell in love with the musical "Ragtime" on my first trip to New York City. It was incredible then and it was incredible again tonight! I'm thankful I had the opportunity to see it again - this time a little closer to home. I'm thankful for the incredible musical talents of the cast of the show! 

Deep conversations

I've never been a fan of small talk. I just don't like it. I always get flustered and I stress about having nothing to say. But I'm thankful good, meaningful, deep conversations. I'm thankful for conversations where thought and opinions and concerns can be shared freely, where you have no thought to judge and you're not worried about being judged yourself. I need to figure out how I can have more conversations like that in my life!

Downhills

I ran 3 miles tonight. It was all downhill! It was the fastest 3 miles I've run in a very, very long time! I'm thankful for the opportunity to participate in a clinic to learn how to run downhill with correct form.  

A training clinic

I'm thankful to the folks at Wasatch Running. We partnered with them to present a training clinic for the people who will be running our half marathon. It was fabulous. I'm thankful for Darrell, who taught the lesson and for everyone who came to learn. 

A new screen protector

My phone screen protector has been awful for a few weeks now. I'm so thankful to have a new one! 

Girlfriends

There was a lot of laughing at my house tonight! I'm thankful for the wonderful girls who spent some time with us tonight. I'm thankful for our fun conversations and especially for all the laughter! 

The Book of Mormon

Our young single adult stake president gave us a challenge a little while ago to read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year. It has been a great experience for me to accept this challenge. I'm thankful for the opportunity I had today to teach Relief Society. We had a great discussion about the Book of  Mormon. I hope at least a couple girls recommitted to accepting President Boyer's challenge. 

Thunderstorms

We've been having a bunch of summer thunderstorms this week. I love it. I'm especially thankful for the thunderstorm that happened really, really early this morning. I ran 13 miles this morning. I signed up with a running club. Today was our first meeting and we didn't start running until after 7:00! But, it was still overcast from the thunderstorm and there was a pretty significant breeze. I'm thankful for the circumstances that made the run a little less miserable. 

Being done with high school

I went to my 10 year high school reunion tonight. It was very awkward and very entertaining! I'm so thankful that I'm not in high school anymore! I'm thankful for the opportunities I've had that have allowed me to learn and grow since then! 

4th of July in Kaysville

It's been 6 years since the last time I got to spend the 4th of July just celebrating. Usually I have to wake up at 3:30am and send a good 10 hours in the hot sun, working. But not today! Since I got my new job in December, I no longer have responsibilities on the 4th. I got to sleep in, go for a run, watch the Kaysville parade, nap, BBQ with my family, and see the best fireworks! I love the 4th of July in K-town. I'm thankful that I got to spend the day with some of my favorite people celebrating! Happy 4th of July!

A strangers bathroom

I went to some fireworks tonight. We walked a little more than a mile from our car. By the time we got to the firework location, I needed a bathroom. I hadn't seen any so I decided I could hold it. One of the guys in our group said he needed to go to and we decided to go ask someone who lived close if we could use their bathroom. Tanner walked right up and did all the talking - even when the lady looked pretty upset about us even asking! I'm thankful for the lady allowing us to use her restroom. I'm thankful Tanner was persistent. It made the fireworks a little more enjoyable. 

Jessicas chicken

My neighbor Jessica made us dinner tonight. It was super delicious! I'm thankful for her kindness in making it for us. I'm thankful I had a great meal ready when I got home (from a pretty crappy day)! 

Fresh produce

My body is craving all the right food right now. All day I thought about strawberries and apples and grapes and bananas and cucumbers and avocados. So naturally I had to go to the store to get all those things! (I also ended up with a watermelon and cottage cheese). I'm thankful for my fridge full of fresh produce! I'm excited for snack time tomorrow!