Zucchini noodles

Who knew zucchini noodles were even a thing?! I'm thankful for a delicious lunch with my "administrative professionals." It was delightful and I can't wait to go back and eat at that restaurant again! 

2 minutes of sun

I have a new electronic marquee at work. It's fantastic. Today I had to update the info being displayed on the sign. In order to update it, you have to go out to the sign with a laptop and connect through a wireless connection to update the play program. By the time I had everything ready to update, the weather turned and it started to snow. But the update had to happen today and that was my only chance. I'm thankful for the 2 minutes if sunshine I got while my laptop connected to the sign. The snow let up and the sun came out and I managed to keep the laptop from getting too wet! 

A snowy adventure

Eric and I went for a walk. We decided to skip the neighborhood and head up Adam's canyon. We hiked for maybe an hour and then decided to turn around so we wouldn't be stuck hiking down in the dark. About 2 minutes after we turned around, it started to snow! We were practically running down the mountain. There was lightning crazy close. I was covered in snow! It was quite the adventure. I'm thankful we made it back to the car safely and I'm thankful for the dry hoodie Eric let me borrow to wear home.

Real Salt Lake Suite Tickets

Today I'm thankful that our department at work for to use the Sandy City Real Salt Lake suite tickets. I'm not usually a huge soccer fan, but I do enjoy going to the MLS games here. I even got to meet Leo the Lion! 

Dinner

My awesome brother and sister-in-law invited me over for dinner. I'm thankful for the dinner, it was very delicious. I'm thankful for some time with my family. I haven't gotten enough of that lately. And I'm thankful that Aaron and Jamie (well, Jamie really) thought to invite me! 

A registered car

TodayI'm thankful my car is officially legal for one more year! I'm not thankful for the emissions test I had to pay for and I'm not thankful for the taxes I had to pay. But I'm thankful it's done and taken care of until next year!

Sand bags

There is parks project going on at the park connected to the rec center I work at. As part of the project they leveled a pretty big hill we had in the pool area. It's something we've wanted to do for a while. But it hasn't been great timing. They had to tear down our pool fence and put up a temporary fence. It's been working okay, except today there was a pretty good wind storm. That temporary fence took a beating! It got pushed around and nearly blown away. But I'm thankful for the sand bags that held the fence in place. I'm thankful for the parks guys who came after hours to make sure it was secure. And I'm thankful for my staff, who were very vigilant in making sure it was taken care of! 

Catch

I have find memories if playing catch with my dad and my brothers. I played tball, coach pitch baseball, and softball growing up. I didn't really live playing the actual sport, but I did like playing catch. There's just something about catching a throwing a ball that makes everything else kind of melt away. I'm thankful for the time I got to spend playing catch tonight. I'm need to get a glove of my own so I can play more often! 

This quote

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come. -Joseph B Wirthlin

I can't even begin to express how much this feels like my life right now. I am definitely experiencing a "Friday" in my life. I really do feel like my world (and my heart) has shattered and is lying in pieces.  But I also know that Sunday will come. I know that it will get better. For now, I will cling to that knowledge and hope for that day. I pray it isn't too far off. 

Dinner and a movie

Today I'm thankful for an evening out with two people I love, but don't get to see as often as I would like. Sometimes being a busy adult is the pits! But when we can make our schedules work, I enjoy spending time with Emily and Deena. We went to dinner (Chick-Fil-A) and a movie (Draft Day). Both were pretty great. And I'm thankful I was out and about instead if being home alone! 

The womens expo

Today Krista ANC I bailed on work early (she technically had the day off for Good Friday, but still worked...so I guess it was just me that bailed on work early). We went down to a womens expo in Provo. There were lots of booths with girly stuff - clothes, jewelry, shoes, etc. It was fun to do something different. I'm thankful I could spend my afternoon doing that instead of working!  

Emergency management

I got to be a part of Sandy City's EOC emergency management exercise. I'm thankful for the opportunity to watch and hear about how the city will respond in the event of some kind of disaster. 

People who try

This life is hard. There are some things in life that just don't comfy as easy as others. I'm thankful for the people who set an example for me by just trying. They just do their best. It would be awesome if we could all put forth our best effort as well as respect the efforts of others. This world and the people in it are entirely too competitive and too critical! 

A hammock

I have a balcony in my bedroom. Everyone in my neighborhood has cute patio furniture out on their balconies. I've been meaning to get something out there for a long time! I currently don't love being home alone. I usually end up crying. One day last week I ended up home alone. I decided to out and buy a chair for my balcony. But I didn't buy one. Instead I got amazon and bought a hammock! It came today, I set it up and enjoyed some time out on my balcony. I'm thankful for the hammock and the future time that will be spent in it! 

Rice

I write all of these posts from my phone. (There's an app for that!) There was no post yesterday because my phone was out of commission. I had it in my back pocket when I went to the bathroom and it fell in the toilet! Gross!! Today I'm thankful for the rice that I left my phone in for 24 hours to dry it out. I'm thankful it worked! I won't be putting my phone in my back pocket again any time soon! 

New roads

Today I'm thankful for new roads - for the opportunity to explore and go a different way. I get stuck doing the same things and going the same way a lot. But today I did some exploring. 

Sun

I live for the sun. I'm still not really sure why I live somewhere where it's winter for 9 months of the year! I'm thankful for a quick get-away to St. George. I'm thankful for an entire day spent in the sun. I'm thankful for a cool pool to get in to beat the heat. But mostly I'm just thankful for the heat! I'm excited to say good-bye to winter!

Safety week

Every year our department has a safety week. Every day for a week we put together a short safety training for everyone to attend. I'm thankful for the reminders we receive during the week. I really, really want everyone in our department to be safe and healthy and happy. I'm thankful for one week every year to refocus and make sure we're doing the things we need to!

Sealings

Today I'm thankful I got to witness temple sealings. Krista's brother Steve was sealed to his wife of nine year and their 3 beautiful children. Brooke was baptized just over a year ago and it has been such a blessing for to be able to see the change in them as a family. The gospel has an incredible effect on people. I'm thankful for temple ordinances. I'm thankful Steve and Brooke let me be a part of their day! 

Being able to help

I helped a fellow Sandy city employee jump her car today. She was SUPER impressed that I knew how to jump start a car. She was even more impressed when she found out I could also change a tire. I'm thankful for the knowledge and experience I have that allowed me to be able to help someone today. 

Music in my car

My brother Jared is tech-savy. He put an iPod connector in my car so I can play anything I want (as long as it's on my iPod). Something happened a few weeks ago and the connector stopped working. It hasn't been awesome. Today I'm thankful for Jared and his ability to fix it! It killed 2 birds with one stone. Jared fixed the music and I cleaned out my car. I'd call it a success. 

My teacher

My teacher tonight was incredible. She made me stay after class, told me I didn't have to come for the last 2 class sessions and told me I can take as long as I need to to turn in my final project...even if it's after the semester is over. And then she told me her home is always open if I need somewhere to go. I'm thankful for her, for her support and for her empathy. She didn't "bless my heart" or say "my thoughts and prayers are with you." She said, "I think about you multiple times a day and my heart is broken for you." And she meant it. She wasn't saying those things because there's nothing else to say. I'm thankful for that. I can only hope my Thursday teacher will be equally as incredible. 

A gluten free stash

My mom spent last week at my brother's house. When she got here, my brother and I went to the store and stocked up on some gluten free stuff (muffins, pretzels, bread, etc.). Most of it didn't get eaten. Now my mom's back in St. George, so I volunteered to take all the left-overs off my brother's hands. I'm thankful for that stash because I also spent most of last week at Aaron's house, which means my cupboards and my fridge are very empty!! Now at least I have stuff to get me through until I can get to the store. 

Filed taxes

I usually file my taxes as soon as I get my W-2 from work. But this year I procrastinated. Today I'm thankful to have them filed...with 9 days to spare. And I'm very thankful to be getting a tax return. 

The end of this day

I don't know the last time I was this thankful that a day was over. Today we had my sister's funeral. It was hard. Really hard. I cried. A lot. And as thankful as I am that this day is over, I dread the days and weeks and months ahead. I've done this before. I know that now the hard part starts. Now I have to figure out how to do real life. Now all my family goes back their real life. Now we have to create a whole new "normal." One without Sharon. And that doesn't happen quickly and it doesn't happen easily. 

Our bodies

Today I'm thankful for the knowledge that our bodies are just a shell. Our spirits are what really bring us to life. We are not bodies with a spirit, we're spirits with a body. Today I saw my sister's body. Even while she was alive her body was sick and sad, but her spirit made up for it. And now that her spirit is not there, her body just looks sick and sad. It was hard to see. But I'm thankful that her spirit lives on, no longer restrained by her sick and sad body. 

Gluten free coconut pancakes

I went out to breakfast today. I ate gluten free coconut pancakes and they were yummy. The rest of the day was just hard, but I'm thankful for the pancakes. 

Family memory time

My mom asked me to speak at my soster's funeral. That might be ranked on the list of top 10 things I would really love to NOT do. Ever. But she's my mom and although I tried, she would not accept no for an answer. I will be doing a little bit of a "life sketch." I'm terrified and I have no idea what I'm going to say. But, today I'm thankful we could get together as a family and talk about Sharon for a little while. I'm thankful I could write some things down. I hope I will be able to compile those thoughts into a talk that Sharon would approve of having at her funeral.