A Moment of Spiritual Learning

Sometimes I have to work on Sundays.  It's normally because I have a deadline and my dumb self couldn't figure it out before then.  Every year, there are two large moments when I inevitably will hit a deadline that means me working on Sunday.  Quarterly, it's usually when financials are due, but annually, it's when our tax information is due.

A few Sundays ago.. I was feeling quite dreadful, knowing that there was so much to data input and then analyze, and that I'd have to figure out how to reconcile it without too big of a difference.  On Saturday night... late.. I had about a 60K difference, a small number from my days of auditing big companies where materiality was more, but a large number for me now.  I was dumbfounded.  Frustrated.  Defeated.  Sad.  Depressed.  And sick to top it off!

On Sunday morning... still coming off a rough cough and illness, I suggested to my husband that since I wasn't teaching that weekend, and since Jordan was still getting over a cold himself, that maybe we should stay home and rest.  Deep down, I had plans of reconciling the bum out of that spreadsheet....  I had some hesitation.  But really, I just kept thinking how great it would be to sit down and figure out the spreadsheet with three hours of church time.

I was lounging around in the morning with Jordan when he asked me where Daddy was.  I said, "Daddy is showering so he can go to Church."  Jordan then declared, "I want to go to Church too!"  That sort of kicked me in the butt a little.  I realized.... I was sick, but I had been sick, and had been doing a lot of things while sick.  If anything, I should go to Church, avoid working and renew myself spiritually, and hopefully the Lord would help me out with my huge reconciling difference.  I also realized that Jordan was his messenger for me that morning, reminding me that there really wasn't a good reason NOT to go to Church.  So I put the stress of a spreadsheet I still hadn't figured out aside, got my boys dressed, got dressed myself, and surprised Andy who thought we were staying home to recuperate.

Church was good.  Nothing life changing, but good nevertheless.  But what happened after really shocked me and continues to be yet another reason I know coincidences are just part of the Lord's way of showing us He's there and aware of us.  I got home.. we ate lunch... the boys went to sleep (all three of them) and then I sat down with the dreadful spreadsheet again.  For some reason, I had an inkling that the error was in the gross wages... so I started investigating that area.  I did some ticking and tying and the next thing I knew... I had my difference from 60K down to less than 1k.  It was indeed a miracle.  I was still sick.. but Jordan didn't have a fever anymore that day and both of us were on the road to recovery.

Sometimes... I think it's easy to be tempted to stay home... to do it on your own even if it means trying over and over again.  But other times... if we realize the Lord can help us more than we can ourselves... we save a lot of time and energy.  I truly believe the Lord consecrates our efforts... helps us where we can't.  I'm not saying don't try and just rely completely on the Lord to do everything, but that if we put in a bit of effort the Lord will make up for where we lack.  I do believe in that and humble testify to it happening in my life a few Sundays ago when staying home to work felt more appealing than going to Church.

But the real reason I am blogging at 12 AM is because we just came home from cleaning the Temple.  Now let me tell you something... cleaning the Temple at 10 PM on a weeknight?  I was not in good graces when my husband told me he had signed us up.  In fact, I was a bit irate.  Really?  Doesn't he know I work at night when everyone's asleep?  Plus, I had to make some changes to the very spreadsheet mentioned above and send it to my bossman tonight.  So that just meant I'd go to the Temple with Andy, come home and then work.  So off I went.  Very begrudgingly.  I vacuumed for a long time.  On a really clean carpet and squealed with joy every time I saw a piece of lint get sucked up.  I sweated.  I got bored.  I wondered if we were done yet.  My eyes got misty with fatigue and boredom but I kept at it.  And then we left to go home.  I started working on my spreadsheet almost immediately when we got home... and within 10 minutes, it was done.  WOW.

Pretty dang awesome if you ask me.

We might not know, but He knows!

It has now been over 2 weeks since Daisy was admitted to the hospital for bedrest.  It all started with just a tiny bit of spotting.  From what Daisy described to me at the time, it truly was tiny, and almost too little to be concerned.  Thankfully she noticed it, and when she called the doctor, they were concerned enough to see her the next day, even though she had an appointment scheduled in a couple of days.  At the appointment the doctor checked her out, and initially came to the conclusion that she would still be able to make her flight to Utah, for our planned vacation which should have started tomorrow.  Thankfully, one more check showed that wouldn't be wise, as she was 2-3 cm dilated, with a bag poking through the cervix.

She was quickly wheeled over to antepartum, and put on tocolytics to stop the contractions.  Initially they weren't really doing much to stop her uterus, but over the first 24 hours, they started to work.  Over the next 12 days, our doc was internally debating the plan for Daisy and Bubba, and discussing the plan with his partners.  Do we let the baby continue to incubate, and mature, while at the same time risking breaking her water, having the cord and feet pop out requiring an emergency C-section?  Or do we take her back for a scheduled C-section?  Finally, given the fact that Bubba's feet were still dangling and kicking mommy's bladder, it would not be wise to wait any longer, given that the umbilical cord might be near the cervical opening.

Surgery would prove the worst case scenario to be true, and make the doctors' decision the right one - Bubba's feet were down, with the cord wrapped around his feet.  She was 4-5 cm, definitely big enough for his little feet to fall out of, which would have been disastrous.  Instead, he was taken out in a controlled environment, with all the right people there.

Adam came out looking like a champ, but would have his struggles breathing that first night.  Thankfully, I had a co-intern who had just became a new papa a few doors down from Daisy's room to accompany me to give little Adam a blessing.  It wouldn't be until an impromptu fast was started that little Bubba turned the corner.  I guess there are some kinds that don't go out except through fasting.  The cliche of no news is good news, was broken when in the middle of the night, the NICU nurse called to say he had turned the corner.  A miracle!  He hasn't looked back since, and although there is much work to do, he has shown his grit and determination to get it done.

Looking back on the whole experience, I am grateful for two little tender mercies, which in hindsight show that the Lord was aware of us, and the plight we were about to have.  The day before admission, my mom texted Daisy asking her if everything was ok, and that she was thinking of her.  When I talked to my mom later that day to explain that there was some bleeding and we were going to check it out, she said, I just thought I should check in with you guys.  The other little nugget showing us that God was aware was the next morning before the doc's appointment, when Daisy said that Jordan was extremely clingy, which he normally isn't.  Not only was he clingy, but he kept saying Ethan, over and over and over again (which was Adam's name, until it wasn't anymore!)  Lil Jordan knew his brother was coming.  Thankfully, there were people in our lives who took a second to stop and listen, and hear the voice of the Lord.  And although them knowing didn't change what happened, it did bring comfort as we faced the uncertainty of the whole process.

Getting the Right Set Up

As many of the recent posts have demonstrated, Jordan has developed quite the love of golf. Not only does he love hitting golf balls in the house, but he also loves reading golf digest, watching golf on television, watching daddy play golf, as well as watching instructional golf DVDs. I can't help but think I am watching my early retirement plan unfolding before my eyes!

When Jordan sets up properly to the ball, he makes some pretty impressive contact. However, that doesn't happen every time. He will often swing at a moving ball, or just keep his feet in the same place and swing no matter where the ball is in relation to his stance. Not the best of habits. Given that he sometimes gets frustrated missing the ball because of his set up, I decided that I would try to help him get the concept. Let's just say he's only 20 months, and I really had no chance. But I will most definitely keep trying.

After putting him to bed I grabbed a conference talk to study, and made my way to the kitchen table, instead of the couch. It's a new habit I'm trying to develop, as I realized that getting the proper set up for scriptures study is just as important as getting the right set up for golf. When I am on the couch, often my time goes underutilized; at the table, I am much more involved, and have definitely felt the flash of inspiration much more often. Here's hoping J Denny and I can both solidify our set ups!

The Power of Prayer

I know it's silly to assume every prayer will get answered and that all will be dandy with prayer, but I have never thought not to pray when losing something, even if just for comfort if the lost item is not relocated!  In the past, I've prayed for my lost Seven jeans, my lost Fendi sunglasses (materialistic much?) and most recently this morning, Jordan and I prayed for the expensive camera we forgot on the plane (who does those things?!) yesterday afternoon.  I knew there was a huge chance we'd never recover it, that the EDD money from maternity leave would go towards that instead of an expensive fridge, but I also knew praying about it would help me whether the outcome was good or bad.  And I sure hoped it was good because that was an expensive camera, it was a Christmas gift from Andy's parents to him a few years ago for the sole purpose of capturing higher quality photos of Jordan (which we have no doubt neglected and resorted to our lame iPhones most of the time), and lastly, it had a bunch of our photos on it (some creeper would have our photos!)  There was much repenting on my part fot the abuse and neglect of this nice camera that we are so fortunate to have.

All of a sudden, regret waved over me.  We should have labeled our case with a name.  We could have put a contact number or a business card with it.  We should have noted the serial number (for reporting it online through Southwest).  Shoulda.  Woulda.  Coulda.  


They say marriage is two becoming one.  Well, for Andy and me, this worked much to our advantage in the case of the expensive camera we left behind.  I remembered this morning as I went to charge the battery (we forgot to bring our charger assuming Andy's dad's would work, it didn't. ... and the camera was useless for the entire duration of our trip), but I only figured out how to report a lost item online after talking with the Southwest representative on the phone and being advised that was the only way.  Andy, on the other hand, began googling stuff, called Southwest for the number of the airport's baggage service counter, and spoke with someone who confirmed an item matching our item's description was in their possession.  Hallelujah!  Tender mercy, power of prayer, karma, kind and honest airport workers, whatever you want to call it... we were so extremely grateful and relieved.

And now, I am on my way to repenting and using this camera for all its worth, but not before thanking Heavenly Father for this tender mercy.  If we had lost it, we were ready to learn from this big mistake and never ever lose another expensive item on the plane again, and more importantly, we'd have this sense of comfort that it was just a material item and at least we had not lost our kid (that thought may be funny to you, but it seriously crossed my mind).  For the record, I have lost used Rainbow flip flops on a plane that never got returned.  Wish I thought to pray then because then I might not still be festering over it.

Pretty Spectacular

Last night Caitlin, who lives in the same apartment complex but different building (across from us) came over to use my shower because hers is out of order. On her way out, we started talking (we both have new babies about 2 months apart) about our babies, about life, about the next child, about moving soon, about our birth experiences... and somehow our loquacious selves found ourselves talking in the hallway for almost an hour when we heard a neighbor's door open and we both instinctively jumped back into my apartment, closed the door quietly and carefully and giggled like we were two college girls living in a dorm who inadvertently and ignorantly annoyed the neighbors. We then talked some more and by the time she left, it was around 1 AM.

After she left, I finished an episode of this week's The Office and then found myself waking up at 7 AM this morning, unable to go back to sleep (try as I might).

You want to know what's funny though? Yesterday, I was missing Andy (he's been away interviewing this past week) and just wishing I had someone to gab with. About absolutely nothing. About nothing significant. About everything really. You see, my BFF, who usually fulfills that responsibility (or obligation, what have you) is in Hawaii on vacation with her hubbie and some of our friends, so she hasn't been bored enough to call me, nor has she responded to my texts or voice mails. *sigh.

I'm fairly independent in terms of running errands and shopping or even working out on my own (and I'm that girl who ends up talking to strangers about random things), but every now and then, I just like to talk to someone. In the past, I've been known to call old friends... catch up, talk, and so on and so forth. Blame it on my seventh grade rule that I could only have three phone calls a day or that though I work part time from home, I don't have to talk to anyone (like I did at the old Firm when we always had teams or people coming to my office with issues or wanting to just talk) unless it's a client or vendor or the Bossman giving me an ad-hoc request.

So last night was fun. I got my talk on.

This last week has been the longest Andy and I have ever been apart from each other after getting married, but now it seems to have gone by so fast. The time was made short with the kind calls from family members checking in, work errands, personal errands, invitations to go out from friends, and trips to Arcasia to have lunch, go shopping and dinner. At home when it's just Jordan and me, we have taken a lot of photos, played a lot of games, thrown food all over the couch and carpet, cleaned the house, lots of laundry, skyped with Andy, organized our mail pile, (it never gets smaller.. we just try to maintain it), made a Christmas wreath, finished two books (The Entitlement Trap and Shanghai Girls - both of which I highly recommend!) and missed Andy. I am currently planning Sunday night dinner via Pinterest with Pandora playing my Mumford and Sons station in the background, the red autumn leaves blowing from the balcony view (when did Fall foliage get here?), Jordan peacefully asleep, and a trip planned to our fancy gym for a Pilates class in a bit followed by some shopping (despite me swearing I would not go back to the malls on a weekend, I feel like going today....)

It makes me realize that Heavenly Father is aware of me and my needs, as silly as they may be and that yesterday, when I was feeling really lonely and wondering who I could just gab with... that Heavenly Father sent me someone. And now, as I get ready for my day, I can't help but smile about that and all the wonderful acts of love and angels He has sent my way while Andy has been away. It's pretty spectacular. And so are these photos.

Mommy! I'm naked! Put that camera away!

Okay, maybe just one. ... or two.

Something Familiar and Not Too Far Away...

Yesterday, Jordan and I trekked over to Arcasia to have lunch with three of my four bridesmaids, two were visiting - one from San Diego and the other from Hawaii and we all call Arcasia our hometown so naturally we met there to dine.

Though we only live a short 10 miles away .... absent a direct freeway, it takes roughly 20-30 minutes of commute time. I usually avoid making the trip to Arcasia but lately, the reality of my lil family moving for Andy's residency combined with a growing grandson who may move away encourages me to make the trip out there more often to visit my parents and brother - especially since I'm not working! I started with yesterday's trip.

Lunch was so much fun with the girls! It's always comforting to meet with old friends and catch up, gossip and talk about life. It helps me to imagine the feelings of homecoming that will be felt when we are reunited with loved ones after this life. And if that is what we have to look forward to, why wouldn't it make sense to make the most out of this life here and now?! It's something familiar and not too far away...

These are my girlfriends from back home from left to right, Grace (San Diego resident these days), Wendy (Hawaii wanna-be local these days) and Annie (who treks between Arcadia and Brentwood), Julia was missing cuz she had to work....sucker! (ps I am loving maternity leave in case you didn't know) This photo was hard to take and after three tries, we settled. Sorry Baby Jordan - your mouth is cut off!

After lunch with the girls, Jordan and I headed over to my parents' house to find my mom, wai puo. While there, I fed him and enjoyed the nice cool room (my parents leave their AC on 24/7 in the summer,something we can't afford) and Jordan also enjoyed some tummy time on wai-puo's couch. I realized something about Jordan today. He sure likes attention. Attention of my girlfriends and attention of my mom snapping photos of him.
Besides eating, pooping, peeing, sleeping, cooing, and farting, Jordan is also missing his nama (Andy's mom is grandma but our nieces call her nama). He was lying on a mat when May called and was on speaker and he must have recognized her voice because he got really excited all of a sudden and started doing that arm flapping mouth opening thing he does. It was fantabulously adorable-errific!

The Choice We Made a Year Ago

In life, we have many choices. As I think back on the choices I have made in life, it's difficult to distinguish which were my choices, which were ones my parents made for me, and which were accidental choices. What's easy to conclude are the good and bad choices and the ability to learn from them. Some choices don't matter much, and we forget about them easily whereas some are a lot more difficult and take careful consideration.

About a year ago (June 19th), my choice to marry a worthy priesthood holder in the Temple was sealed for all time and eternity. His choice to take me as his wife was also sealed forever.

Our choice to become one then led to other choices. Our choices are often sacrifices for the other's happiness but in reality, the consistency of such thoughtfulness has enabled me to call 'em fun learning moments. In just a short year, we have learned so much about ourselves and each other.

Here's what I've learned about Andy (list is not conclusive):

• He can sleep through anything (pretty nice at night when Jordan's crying)
• He dislikes spiders but will man up and kill 'em for me
• He doesn't care for closing the kitchen or medicine cabinets (they have to be opened again)
• He loves playing the piano
• He farts a lot
• He loves Jimmer
• He loves BYU football, basketball, golf and Jimmer again
• He loves taking naps
• He loves being a daddy

And here's what I've learned about myself (list is also not conclusive):

• I am a tech dummy
• I like making the bed in the morning
• I like grocery shopping alone but I like help unloading
• I don't turn off the TV when it's in RGB mode
• I fart a lot but mine don't stink
• I like learning how to cook even if only my husband thinks my food is good
• I don't like taking naps
• I'm learning how to be a mommy

And here's what I've learned about us:

• We love each other
• We love Jordan
• We love our family
• We love going to the Temple
• We love the gospel
• We love eating
• We love when Jordan grunts and moans as he farts in his sleep
• We love using correct contractions
• We love learning how to be better parents

We agreed not to spend money on each other but we both spent approximately $5 making each other thoughtful (which means very time consuming) DIY gifts. I made Andy a scrapbook recounting each month of our first year (but since we agreed not to spend money, I used the existing materials I had and glued everything onto empty pages from our guestbook which was only 3 pages filled out.. hahaha, resourceful am I!). Andy made me a sweet slideshow that spanned from before we were married to now (and I knew he was up to something since he used my work computer complete with a ton of our photos without the internet working). May watched Jordan for us (so grateful for her and her love for Jordan) while we snuck away to Umami Burger for dinner - their burgers are small but they are so satisfying and the meat is just juicy! So all in all, our one year anniversary was short, simple and sweet.

I know we're novice at this whole marriage thing, but we're pretty stoked about what lies ahead. At least I am.. can't speak for Andy but I do cuz we are one.

People Are Just So Nice

Last year, we hosted our buddies from the Singles Ward at Andy's apartment (now our apartment) every Sunday. It was a really fun Sunday activity - we would potluck with great friends and then put them to work making Martha Stewart poms in light and dark purple. I ordered tissue paper from a local downtown wholesale supplier so we had a LOT of tissue paper. Understatement of the year. Just know every gift from here on out until probably 2020 will be wrapped with light or dark tissue paper with creases in them from the leftover poms we prepared. Ha! (We literally have four or five dozen folded and stapled poms in the closet storage).

The funny part is - that was only the prep. Once we were at the wedding reception hall, there was the act of puffing the poms. Our wedding party (and significant others) and super duper close friends flew in early to visit and play in LA, some went with me to the Temple for the first time, and of course - to come and help spruce up the basketball court!

I can't believe it's already been a year since all the wedding hoopla that was our life this time last year. These days, it's all about Jordan who is preciously sleeping away (uh-oh for my upcoming night shift) on the wannabe boppy and I am considering stealing away to the Apple Store for 45 minutes (I have been waiting since his last feeding but he is sleeping a lil too well!)...but I digress. Even though I can't believe how fast time flies, even more so, I cannot believe how kind our family and friends have been regardless of the situation.

Last year - it was to help with wedding stuff.

This year, it is to help with the new baby.


I am blown away and just baffled by the outpouring of love and time everyone has given us whether it was folding tissue paper, gluing pieces of foam and googly eyes to marshmallows for our seating cards, puffing poms or whether it is bringing us meals, holding the sleeping baby, cleaning up the house, rearranging the furniture, or just spending time with the new mom who rarely went out those first few weeks. I know these angels are sent by God and I am so grateful for the nice people. Man, people are just so nice!

Two Years Ago... One Year Ago...

Today, as I was boob feeding Jordan, I received an e-mail from Elder Vera, a missionary who taught me some lessons back in April 2009. His message was short - "Isn't it two years since you were baptized?" Wow! I completely forgot that today indeed marks a momentous occasion!

I cannot believe it has been two years. It seems like yesterday when I was blogging about my baptism.

Two years later, I have become one with another human, grown a human, and am currently producing milk. Things sure change a lot!

Around a year ago, I was showing my BF the basketball court (named "cultural hall" in all Mormon church buildings) where Andy and I were going to have our wedding reception free of charge - SCORE! Since it wasn't a church building I was familiar with, we both roamed in the hallways until we found the entrance to the cultural hall. We opened the door which was unlocked, excited that it was open and as soon as we stepped inside, the door closed behind us and we both gasped at the darkness that engulfed us. We stumbled around, looking for a light switch, astonished at how quickly it had gotten dark. We found a switch... it did nothing. We found another switch.. it also did nothing. We thought out loud about where else the light switch could be. We realized how big the room actually was. And then... it happened. The light was still off.. but we adjusted. We could see each other and the room pretty clearly now. We ignored our quest to find the light switch and began talking logistics of the reception. We finished and on our way out another door, we saw another switch and took a chance - tried it - and suddenly, our eyes squinted at the shock of the light. We had become accustomed to the dark, we were even able to see there, and this spark of light was drastically different and hard to digest all at once.

That is how I feel about my life with and without the light of Christ.

Before I was introduced to the Gospel, I always knew there was a God. Like everyone else in this world, my relationship with Him seemed to magnify during hardship when I would start a prayer with - If you're real, then I need to ask for your help or If you're out there... please answer me. I was essentially looking for the switch. But over time, not having a relationship with him, giving into the ways of the world, and justifying my own actions based on my own religion or philosophies of life, my eyes got used to the dark. I didn't need to find the switch anymore. I could navigate around the dark easily and did not even know I was in the dark. And then... once the light of Christ came into my life, it was hard to see at first. I found the switch. A little too much light. But once you have the light, why would you go back to the dark?

I am so grateful for having a relationship with Heavenly Father. I am so thankful for the Atonement and the understanding that it is for me and for you, and for everyone. I am so blessed that I found myself, found the truth, and found the light.

I like being the light more than the dark.

Even For My Jeans...

I think designer jeans came into play in the early 2000's. It must have been 2003 because prior to that, expensive jeans for mainstream laymen were Levi's, Mavis or Guess jeans. There was no True Religion, Seven for all mankind, Citizens of Humanity, 575, Rock and Republic, Joe's or Hudsons. In fact, tall people like yours truly hated wearing jeans because they never were long enough and everyone would ask me when the floods were coming with my high water pants. That all changed in 2002.

I'll never forget the moment I saw Kassie, my ballroom buddy from North Carolina, in those fabulous jeans. I stared at them for quite a while, and thought I just have to know where she got 'em! Kassie was tall like me so whatever jeans she had would fit me. She told me they were a brand called seven that she found at Nordstrom and how she also never wore jeans until now! The bad news was they were quite hefty in price, roughly around 100. "A HUNDRED BUCKS FOR JEANS? You have GOT to be kidding me," I told her. She reassured me they were well worth the price and were also surprisingly comfortable. I didn't trust her.

Until three years later when I invested in a pair myself. They did fit really well! And they were so long I had to get them hemmed (for free at Nordstrom of course). Wow! I quickly amassed four pairs of Seven for all mankind jeans, one of which was courtesy of United Airlines who lost my luggage during a training for which I needed jeans, one from my mom that we scored at a Black Friday sale at the local Macy's.

One day shortly after Andy and I were married and living in our apartment together, I turned the place upside down looking for one pair of my Seven jeans. They were nowhere to be found. I called my mom at home, asking her to look for me, frantically longing for them, but she was quite positive I had taken everything when I moved. I then gave up. A few months later, I again longed for my seven jeans and everytime we visited my parents, I would turn my old room upside down looking and then search all the closets and even laundry baskets (just in case). I knew they were there... somewhere! Another few months later, still not letting go of hope that I'd find them, I called my mom, patiently asking if she had seen my jeans. This time, she said she recalled they were somewhere in the house but she was too busy to find 'em at the moment and when she finally did, she had no luck. A few more months later, four unsuccessful search attempts later, I almost gave up hope. So I went through all the boxes at our apartment again, still unable to find them. Still no jeans.

After I gave birth to Jordan, I longed even more for these jeans because they were larger and might fit my post pregnant self so I again called home - this time asking my brother if he had seen them (since he took over my old room). He told me he'd keep an eye out but I was starting to lose hope!

And this is when I finally decided... maybe it's not too silly to pray about it. I mean... I know they are practically lost and completely gone at this point, but maybe, just maybe I can get some peace of mind from praying about it.

So I did exactly that.

I gave a short prayer - sincerely asking to find them or to have peace about not finding them and to move on already! I was so tired of obsessing over these pair of jeans, exhausting so much of myself that even the hefty price had already been relieved from the time spent looking.

I called my mom again - she was quite familiar with the ask - but I asked her if she remembered seeing them especially since they would probably fit my pregnant self much better. She said she knew which pair I was seeking, but still hadn't managed to find 'em yet. And then, POOF - she said, there might be one more place she could look.

Five minutes later.... she called me and told me she had found them!

Could it be? Really? Was all this effort something I could have bypassed had I just been humble enough to pray for some help in the first place? I felt so silly. I had prayed to find a pair of jeans. And I had my prayer answered.

I was embarrassed to tell Andy that I finally found my jeans because I prayed about it, but he was oh too familiar with the search - one that had commenced so shortly after we had been married and one I often went off to look for when we visited my parents.

We found the jeans this last Saturday which was the same day Andy's mom lost her glasses. We looked and looked for those glasses and even thought we had found 'em when Ike came in with a similar pair claiming he had found 'em (cruel joke but kinda funny actually). We removed the sofa cushions, looked underneath the sofa, all over the floor, in the bathroom, in the guest bedroom, on the table, in the kitchen... everywhere! With NO luck!

Two days went by and we still had not found it. So when most of our family left to the Almansor duck park in Alhambra, I asked Andy if we should pray about it. It again felt silly but it had worked such wonders with my jeans, maybe we should just pray about these glasses so we could either find 'em or forget about 'em already!

So we prayed.

The family came home from the park, told us how great it was - ducks AND turtles too! - and then, guess who found her glasses? They were in her purse the whole time! A place that we had looked but maybe overlooked?

It reminds me that we must not ever think our prayers are beyond Him. Even for my jeans.. even for May's glasses... even for whatever you may need to be okay. In our case, we found what we were looking for, but I have no doubt Heavenly Father would have answered our prayer either way - if we didn't find the jeans or the glasses, we would have been okay with it and would have ceased our search.

But we must not ever think our prayers are too little or too unimportant for even Him.

Remember the MySpace Days?

When I used to have a myspace, when I used to be cool, when I used to waste a lot of time online (wait.. has that changed really?), when I used to be younger, when I used to love broadcasting my life online, this is what I would do.

Make slideshows of my outings, sometimes I'd even put captions.

Given the fatigue and nap I'm about to take, I opted out of the latter. Enjoy the bit of photos below. Yay!

The Easter Tender Mercies

Two years ago on Easter, I met Andy for the first time and never would I have imagined that I'd be spending the rest of my Easters with him. At the time I had just begun my investigation of the Church and though I had every intention of getting baptized, I was adamant about learning about the Church history, ensuring I had a solid testimony, and asking many, many questions. One of my favorite questions was always to ask those who grew up in the Church if they had ever fallen away, had doubts, etc. And when I asked this Andy fellow that same question, his response was short, annoyed and in my eyes, a bit obnoxious and basically a big fat no. Perhaps it was both of our strong personalities, perhaps it was his height, perhaps it was my Asian ethnicity - either way, we became friends and eventually started dating two months after I was baptized.... but I digress.

A year ago on Easter, Andy's parents, sister, brother-in-law, nieces, cousins, aunt and uncle came to visit. Though we were not married yet, it was fun to celebrate with many of his family and it was the first time his parents would meet my parents. Dun dun dun!!!!

So thus far, my Easters with the Church in my life have all been memorable and quite drastic from my days looking for a big hat and cute Spring dress to sport to a champagne brunch.

Today was my third Easter after finding the Church and my second Easter as a member. What I learned was - there are a LOT of hyper kids at Church (Easter basket goodies - can be worse than Halloween!) on Easter, a lot of wonderful musical numbers remembering our Savior and big hats - wait, scratch that last one... I only saw one hat at Church and it was worn by a little girl.

Though we did not celebrate with adorable Easter baskets or egg hunts, we had been scripture studying the New Testament as it relates to Jesus's death and resurrection all last week, and I had been wanting to cook an elaborate Easter meal. We instead opted to have Easter with some friends who also did not family nearby and I still got to make some dishes I had hoped to. You see, for a long time now, I have had two cravings that have not yet been appeased. They are carrot cake and Sara Lee pound cake. Today, I fulfilled the carrot cake craving because what could be a more fitting dessert for Easter than a carrot cake? And as for the pound cake, it's just so expensive - I'm waiting for it to go on sale.

For those who know me, you may be aware of the fact that I am only slowly learning how to cook (my mom told me not to make any effort learning until I was married since I'd be doing it for the rest of my life then...). Recipe by recipe, I am learning the ingredients, what aisle to purchase them from, and cooking terms that are foreign to an amateur like myself.

So OF COURSE, when my Paul Deen carrot cake recipe called for 3 cups of grated carrot - I did what any amateur would do. First I peeled the carrots, next I cut off the two ends, and then I started to grate 'em on my cheese grater. This is quite hard. I wonder if this is why carrot cake can be so expensive! I wonder if there's an easier way. Hmmm.. I bet youtube will know! Ahh, the internet. The joy of learning at your fingertips within mere seconds. I quickly typed in "how to grate carrots" into the search tab on YouTube and less than a minute into the video, was instructed to use a food processor. ....

W. O. W.

DUH!

Good thing I had a Vitamix, the amazing blender that can also be used as a food processor! Too bad it didn't end there. My recipe called for three 9" cake pans, of which I only had one. Each bake time would be 40 minutes, so at 2:30 PM with dinner set to start at 5:30 PM, I was caught in a dilemma. Andy convinced me to cook one part of it in my small loaf pan which made sense at the time. I'd have two layers and a tiny side loaf for fun. Baking proceeded while Andy got some of the baby's room wall deco up (pictures to come in next posts sometime). At 4:45 PM, someone rang our doorbell. The maintenance guy was dropping us a visit to politely inform us that due to flooding two floors below us, our water was to be shut down soon for an undetermined time. And by the way, dinner with friends was scheduled to be at our house since our dining table was large and in charge.

Luckily, after texting our friends that our large dining table meant nothing in light of the lack of water, we found out that one couple had JUST received a free larger dining table last night! What are the chances?!

So we decided to move the Easter celebration to their place and hence, I came up with the following two lists...

THINGS YOU CANNOT DO WITHOUT H20 IN THE HOUSE:

1. Flush the toilet (after you use your one golden ticket flush from the stored water in the tank)
2. Wash your hands (good thing I just bought a huge bottle of hand sanitizer for when visitors come to see the Baby!)
3. Clear the dishes
4. Have people over for Easter dinner
5. Take a shower
6. Brush your teeth
   

THINGS YOU CAN DO WITHOUT H2O IN THE HOUSE:

1. Finish baking your second layer of carrot cake
2. Use the Foreman Grill to finish the chicken for the Caesar salad
3. Pack up all the remaining food items not yet put together for transport to friend's house
4. Leave an unpleasant but poignant message to the Management Company about what an inconveniently frustrating situation we have once again been put into (this is not the first time we got last minute notification of our water shutting down due to flooding downstairs by the same people who play loud obnoxious music, smoke tons of weed, and BBQ way too often so that the grimy aroma of charred food floats onto our third floor balcony and into our living room too consistently)
5. Enjoy a hearty Easter dinner (cooked ham, funeral potatoes, chicken salad, homemade sweet potato rolls, deviled eggs, carrot cake) with friends
6. Remember the Savior
   

with Chinese subtitles


in English


Looking back on the night, I realized the tender mercy of Heavenly Father - the juxtaposition of all the events such that we did not have the ability to have people over, but only yesterday, a free and large table was inherited by our friends who could have us over. I'm sure either way, we would have all enjoyed our dinner somewhere, even if we did not have seats or a place setting - but it was nice to have it.

This also is not our first incident of water shutdown so luckily, our slow water storage accumulated over the last month, has given us the luxury of brushing our teeth and even showering with the water we have put aside.

This Easter, I will remember that he suffered so we could be. And as frustrating as not having water is, it is nothing compared to the suffering that Jesus went through so we could be here and endure the frustration of no water on Easter Sunday right before dinner.

Oh and as for my first homemade cake from scratch ever - somehow Andy convinced me to use the two cake pan layers at the bottom and the loaf pan layer on the top... so my cake ended up looking like this.





The presentation: C for catastrophe
The taste: A for awesome!!!!

Our Adventure with the Rainbow Deluxe Carwash

Yesterday, after lunch with my mom and brother in my hometown of Arcadia (often termed Arcasia because of the more than 50% of Asians who dominate the city), my brother and I decided to get carwashes for our extremely disgustingly dirty cars. The last time I got a car wash was in December from my last car maintenance, and I don't think they even vacuumed my inside so the car was not in good shape. Now we knew our usual go to place was, as of late, not that great. They did a quick job, but usually left some stains, missed some spots, etc. So off we went to the place my mom had mentioned being way better than our usual spot.

When we first got there, I noticed business was slow but with all the nearby street construction, it made sense. I pulled in first and wanted the deluxe rainbow wash, originally $10 - but for today's special - was cut in half! The savings were unbelievable! I looked back to find my brother pulling in back of me and I yelled, "I'm getting the deluxe one - it's only $5 today!" but apparently he didn't hear my entire statement and he responded with, "You're doing the cheapest one?" which was also slashed down to $3 that day. "No!" I exclaimed, "it's on sale! I'm doing the most expensive one for $5!" Confused, he stepped out of his car and came closer so he could hear me correctly. I explained to him the cost savings we were getting and what a lucky day it was for us! He was stoked as well. "Sweet!" he said. So with that, I paid.

I didn't notice it was weird that I was paying before the carwash. Normally, you pay while the car is going through the conveyer belt after you have dropped it off at the vacuum center. Oh well. Without a thought, I got back into my car and would pull the car to whatever drop off station was necessary. Only there wasn't a drop off. I was directed straight into the car wash and in that moment, it hit me. Epiphany! This is like one of those old school carwashes that my dad used to take us through. I quickly turned off my radio (it's habit, I know my antennae is not one that extends), rolled up all my windows, and shifted into neutral, getting ready for the exciting ride through the carwash.

Let me tell you - this one was unlike any other I've ever been in. First of all, the soap is RAINBOW colored! A swirl of beautiful red, green, blue, purple, yellow puffed onto my car and I oohed and aaahed as I took in all the colors mixing together in a declaration of beauty on my car. Then, like many things in life, it was taken away with the big bad bands of rubber that came to put the soap to work. Within seconds, the soap bubbles were gone and all I could see was black. The car continued on its way and the next thing I knew, I was watching the powerful dryer zap away the little bits of water struggling for their lives on my car windshield. They hung on tightly but without avail as the omnipotent air demanded them to depart.

In that moment, I looked at the carpet inside my car which was infested with dirt, leaves, and crumbs of whatever Andy and I had eaten in the car since December. Ewwww. Man, how I wished I could at least have a chance to vacuum the insides, that was a part of the carwash I was looking forward to! But wait! Behold - as I looked onward to the exit of the carwash, I saw people.... ordinary non-uniformed laymen (and women) using a small suction cup thingie majiggie that was attached to a huge hose.

Oh my. I pulled into an empty spot that was adjacent to another empty spot and motioned for my brother's car to come over when he exited. There, we spent the next hour, vacuuming every inch of our car mats, insides, throwing away trash accumulated over time, and laughed at the possibility of what if our mom showed up here expecting a normal carwash without self service? We worked side by side, each commenting on the disgusting state of our cars - mine adorned with an assortment of crumbs and covered with hair which by the way, did not get sucked up by the all powerful vacuum. So with my hands, I plucked every single bunch of hair attached to the carpet of my car. It was probably enough to make a short wig. My brother's car had old Starbucks cups, old red velvet cupcake wrappers, some stuff we were unable to identify and I concluded were chicken bones, and old magazines leftover from when I used to drive his car. We worked hard, never complained and my brother (who is normally labeled as quite indifferent about cleaning up) commented, "It's kind of nice to do it yourself so you can get all the details right." Wow, I was shocked. And then, another shocking statement came thereafter with, "You know, it'd probably be a lot easier if we kept our cars cleaner consistently instead of a one time clean up every now and then like this."

That was my precise conclusion about toilet cleaning a while back (my toilet story), but why had I not thought of it when it came to cars?! An hour later, exhausted but feeling good about our efforts and successfully cleaner (not clean, just cleaner) cars, we left for the very fobby Chinese tea station with free wi-fi where we would aim to work for an hour together. Mainly, I needed my brother to show me how to use the new macbook pro I just purchased (it's so odd going from a PC to a Mac and I'm still slowly adjusting and feel the need to learn more shortcuts so I'm more efficient).

What an adventure we had with the rainbow deluxe carwash! It reminded me about the value of work and how rewarding it is. We felt good when we left, like we had accomplished a lot! And for $5 and an hour later, we felt great! I also enjoyed the time spent with my brother. When our time together overlapped with me living in the back house, our time spent together consisted of VH1's best of the 80's, 90's, reality trash on MTV, etc. But with my demanding work hours, his busy school schedule and extracurricular activities, we didn't see each other much and that time has only decreased since he got back from New York, I got married, and am now having a baby. So it was indeed nice to have the adventure we did together.

Honesty is Always the Best Policy

Or is it? Andy and I noticed a fairly larger direct deposit in our checking account from work back in January that was inconsistent with our normal earnings. Upon looking into it more, we realized there was a mistake. We did not deserve this money. We received way more than we should have! Could it be a blessing from the Lord? Could it be a tender mercy? Or... could it be a simple mistake?

We decided it only made sense to report the over earning that was not rightly ours. So with that decision, I moved forward to call and report the overpayment. After numerous long and very excruciating phone calls to the Shared Service Center, I was advised that I owed the Firm more than just the overpayment. They were wrong. I looked at the info over and over and no matter how many times I reviewed it, reconciled it and analyzed it, they were wrong. Determined, I called Shared Services back and reported THEIR error. Three calls later (and three months also!), they finally concluded that they did not have enough information and would need my HR representative to call in with more details.

Now normally that would not be an issue and I would not hesitate. But there is one time during the year when HR is overwhelmingly busy and that one time, for almost every HR person that exists... is annual performance review time. And guess what time period we are in right now? So now, I've created more work for my HR on top of her already very demanding schedule and tight deadlines and she is asking me.. "how did this come up" while I try to explain I was just trying to be honest. ..... ... ...

So is honesty always the best policy?

I tend to think yes because as horrible as the situation has become, as much as I did not want to punt the problem into her court, the commitment to be honest builds character and lends to a routine lifestyle of integrity.

There's often a debate that small white lies meant to protect everyone, are simply harmless. I would generally disagree. Those lies are just perpetuating a cycle of justification, a means to help us convince ourselves that our less than honest response was okay. And then we continue onto other larger, but still small white lies. And soon, we are tangled in a web of dishonesty, unable to break away from the mastery of deceit we have created for ourselves!!! Okay.. maybe I'm exaggerating just a little. ...

But, I will give one example I heard at Church today.. one example of a "gray" situation where lying was described as an okay response. The story goes like this: For one lady's job, she was in charge of determining whether the temp would be hired for full time after an initial time commitment. She decided one temp candidate would not be a good fit and was not intending on hiring her. She then received a call for a job application this temp was applying for elsewhere and was struggling with whether or not debrief on the temp's characteristics which contributed to her own decision not to hire her. She was relieved that she was not asked if she would recommend this person for hire, and instead spoke only to her positive attributes (which she subsequently gave light on the fact that the over abundance of her quiet and reserved manner made her hard to work with on a team and an unfit leader for the group - but only to us, not to the reference seeker). But, she concluded, she did not lie, and, she continued, she helped the temp get a job and simply only spoke to the truths that she knew of.

Let me just say - sometimes when you hear things you disagree with - you have to quickly decide whether to comment or to just digest it. I personally.. was shocked. That, in my book, is a complete and absolute lie. And maybe because I am dealing with difficult staff, feedback and performance issues on a daily basis, and maybe because I myself am trying to hire more capable candidates for my team and maybe because if I were in the shoes of the person calling, I would feel - quite frankly - manipulated. So maybe I'm a lil closer to her example than most people, but I think it's fair to say, leading people in any way to believing something that is not true, is dishonest and in this particular situation, I think she was dishonest and I do not think it's a gray situation. I am not one to stay quiet, and had there been enough time, I was about to make a comment (even at the risk of offending this nice woman) but I decided I'd rather get out of class on time (it's hot, I'm pregnant, I need to pee ALWAYS, you get the point).

But this is what I wish I would have had the patience and courage to say. I would have recommended her to give the inquirer the positive attributes she noted, and then comment that in full disclosure, these attributes did not help her succeed in this particular environment but given some coaching and help, she may have had the potential opportunity to demonstrate she could have been better. I don't know the entire situation - maybe they did try to help her and she failed, but I do know that in her perspective, she has helped this temp obtain a new job. Yay! One that if she is not a good fit for, she will loose eventually. Boo! Get my drift?

It's hard to have a difficult conversation with someone telling them that the job just ain't cut out for them. Trust me.. it's my job and it ain't easy. I have to daily tell staff that frankly, their work is not consistent with the expectations, give them meaningful but hard feedback and tell them if they've been kicked off a job and to shape up or get out. I have had to tell staff that they are unfortunately, dressed unprofessionally or not developing relationships the way they should be in order to succeed. Nobody likes hearing they suck. But who likes thinking they're the best when in reality, everyone thinks you suck? Which would you prefer?

Let's face it - there are a ton of situations that are hard to be honest in. When my mom asks me if I've eaten any watermelon, it's a lot easier to lie that I have not! When my good friend asks me if I like her new purse that she spent a lot of money on that I am quite frankly not a fan of, it's a lot easier to say, "How cute!" And when I spend all day cooking a new dish and Andy rates it as a mediocre dish, it is hard! And it should be - telling the truth is hard sometimes! But there is a benefit to it.

Before we think that we are the exception every time and justify to ourselves why our little white lie is harmless, we should think of how we would feel given we were in the shoes of the person we're about to white lie to. My mom will have to understandably acknowledge that I can't follow every single piece of advice she gives me, even if in her mind, it is for my benefit. My friend has to respect that our tastes are different, and if she likes the purse that her hard earned money went towards, who cares what I think?! And, I'd much rather know Andy is not a fan of the dish so I won't make it again and can try other things. But the truth is, honesty is always the best policy, we just have to be cognizant of how we deliver the truth, how we approach it, and make sure that we are striving to be more honest.

Part of that is learning to be pure in thought. You can't just confuse being honest with being blunt, and criticizing others for every wrong you see, ever disagreement you have. It's sort of like training our minds not to criticize in a mean manner so that when someone asks us what we are thinking, the truth is not some harsh reality of how mean we are. So .. almost as if your thoughts are pure and loving, not bitingly sarcastic and hurtful so that being honest about who you are is not a difficult thing to do.

Early on in the pregnancy, when we had not told a soul about the baby growing inside my tummy, my brother-in-law sensed something was up. We were with the family getting ice cream when he boldly demanded, "Are you guys pregnant?" and my cute husband, shocked and unable to tell even a small white lie then, just stared with his deer caught by a headlight gaze while I blurted out, "No, of course not!" It was so easy for me to tell that white lie while Andy just gave it away with his face and continued eating his ice cream. That incident made me think about the little white lies that we tell so easily without thinking there is any harm. And really, there won't be sometimes! But we should at least consider the potential of both sides before we do tell a lie because honesty is always the best policy! Yes, even the best of policies are broken for special one time circumstances - just make sure your exception makes sense before you do so. I know all I can do is make sure the Spirit is with me when I am the exception and aim to make honesty a habit.

I Need a Big HAT for Easter!

My family doesn't celebrate Easter. The most we ever celebrated was a trip to the Santa Anita Race Track for some free Easter giveaways and an Easter Egg Hunt in our backyard one year. Beyond that, the neighbors would always give my brother and me cute lil Easter baskets, goodies or gifts - but after about 3 years, they stopped. In my 20's, Easter meant cute floral Spring dresses with a big hat and maybe an Easter day brunch. No Church, no Saviour, nothing beyond cute, fun and maybe some Easter eggs or bunnies.

Last year, Easter was the same weekend as General Conference and Andy's family was visiting. We were still engaged, but I got to spend both days with his family watching Conference, hanging out, enjoying all the Easter goodies (I even made an Easter bag of fun for my now nieces and cousin-in-laws), watching my now niece run around the house looking for princess Easter eggs, and most importantly, remembering the significance of Easter.

This year, the only family we have nearby is my family and they don't celebrate Easter. We won't be seeing Andy's side of the family and well... that means Easter with just the two of us?

Maybe.. maybe not.. but as Andy and I were discussing what to do for Easter, I exclaimed, "I need a BIG hat for Easter!" You see, it had become such a staple of my Easters before that I said it so naturally as if it was just another item on my checklist for Easter. When Andy asked me why, I stammered to attempt to explain that that's what Easter meant to me for a long time - big hats (and mimosa brunches).

Well, I don't know what exactly we're doing yet. I don't know who we'll be spending it with besides each other... but I do know I'd like to attempt the following menu;

Sparkling Mango Lemonade
Deviled Eggs
Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops
Mango Chicken Salad
Honey Lemon Carrots
Creamy Sweet Potatoes with Marshmellows on Top
Carrot Cake

Looks like we might have to invite some people over huh? And maybe we can have a WASPy theme - of big HATS, floral dresses, seer sucker suits, Brittany Spear hats, suspenders, bow ties, and polka dots!

Alas, as long as we remember what the importance of the day is. Not bunnies, not eggs, not big hats.. but the Savior, his resurrection and eternal life. I'm sure it will be hard to teach lil Jordan this when all his eyes will see are the easter eggs, treats and bunny... but lucky for us, we will have more than just a day to teach him about it. We will have Family Home Evenings to teach, to talk about the meaning of Easter, and for myself this year, I can try to prepare all the yummy food before Sunday so we are focused in Church and can come home to a wonderful Easter meal to celebrate our Savior and remember him.

Change It Up!

One of my all-time favorite Disney movies is the Mighty Ducks series with Emilio Estevez (who Paula Abdul proposed to with her song Will You Marry Me Boy?....bet you didn't know that!) and one of my favorite lines from the movie is in the second one, when Michele, the team's teacher, is passing as the Coach since Coach Bombay fails to show up. Unaware of how to switch players who look fatigued, she finally figures it out and screams, "Change it up!"

That's precisely what I was thinking to myself this afternoon as I washed the dishes with our tattered scrub and sponge in one. I'll admit, I don't boil the sponges as much as I should (maybe twice in the last 5 months?) and I just learned you can microwave it for a minute after ringing it as dry as possible for the same objective of disposing bacteria in it. But really, like toothbrushes that are recommended to be changed once every three months, I should change it up.

This made me think about other things we should change up to keep 'em so fresh and so clean. I thought about my scripture study lately, which has been surprisingly attentive and uplifting. Part of it is because I'm over the first trimester constant exhaustion, but more importantly, I've devised a way to keep myself interested in what I'm actually studying! I am actually seeking to study more than to read, which unfortunately, is what I used to do. While reading before, I would often nod off and forget what I was reading and read until I got to my time goal, but now that I'm more focused on the end goal of what I'm studying for or trying to figure out, I have been more positive and always left feeling like I learned something.

Another example is cooking! Okay, okay, truth be told, I'm not exactly the best wife when it comes to cooking (and I only just you tubed how to properly dice an onion...and have yet to try it out!) . But with so many examples all around me, how could I not try to be better? So inspired by everyone who does cook and does plan their weekly menu (you know who you are), I have begun doing so myself. As I do that, I have noticed it's important to change it up from week to week. We can't just have the same food Monday through Friday every week, as tempting and easy as that makes my life, I have to strive for more so we keep it fresh. That doesn't mean we don't visit our favorites often... because truth be told, we love our sloppy Joe's and pizza...and whenever Cafe Rio is in the house (hehe), we eat it all week long!!

I guess changing it up is good if we do it with the intention of keeping ourselves on our toes, remembering to change it to help ourselves. On the flipside, I won't stop going to my favorite Thai restaurant just because I want to change it up, but I might be more open to trying some new places from time to time. However, if they all pale in comparison, I know where to go for some good Thai food. Can you tell I'm hungry? I guess it's time to change it up, from the couch to the kitchen for some snacks before dinner. Miam! (that's yum in French in case you didn't already know).

Changing it up!

The Asian Drying Rack

I first learned how to use a dishwasher a few years ago when I was living in San Jose for a short term assignment in my own sweet Corporate living space. The sad thing about that? Not only was I in my mid 20's, but my best friend, who had also learned a few years earlier, had to teach me. You see, growing up, both of us came from Asian families who rarely used the dishwasher the proper way - to clean dishes. Instead, it was a very appropriate and large drying rack - to dry dishes already washed, used daily and only used the way it was intended for special occasions (think large parties with many guests and no paperware).

These days, I have begun to understand why that practice is actually useful. With only two of us in the family, using the dishwasher means waiting almost a week before it's full. Meanwhile, we are without certain utensils and drinking glasses, and after a few breakfasts, most bowls. So recently, I've concluded the Asian drying rack is back in our house and have been using it to dry things. The only exception for the dishwasher is when we have guests over and a lot of dishes are loaded into the dishwasher at once.

Doesn't it just tickle you funny that old tricks can become new ones? That things we once knew, but maybe did not think much about, can emerge as you naturally realize it just makes sense? That is how the Gospel is to me. It's as if I have always felt a closeness to God and Jesus Christ but never really knew why. It's as if I have always known what is right and what is wrong but of course, can justify either or. It's as if I have always known life had more purpose than eat, drink and be merry but wasn't sure if I wanted to accept that. It's as if I knew I once lived with Heavenly Father, but acknowledging it would mean so much more responsibility than before. It's as if the Gospel and everything it stands for was just a reflection on a mirror standing right before me... but a mirror just a little dusty and grimy, one I had to polish before seeing clearly. But the reflection was always there... I just couldn't see it completely until now. So I suppose it's not really as if, but it actually is indeed.

Nightmare in Atlanta

Sometimes, we think the Spirit is talking to us. Most times, we are unsure if it's the Spirit or ourselves. Sometimes, we should listen more closely. Most times, we only recognize it was the Spirit afterwards.

Yesterday, I had a flight at 2:20 PM from Los Angeles to Atlanta for a two day training, instructing on the new database the Firm uses. Upon remembering part of my weekend would be spent travelling, I was ridden with disappointment. Since Andy is on a new rotation, he had only one day off per week and luckily for us, it lands on a Sunday for the entire 6 weeks. A red eye flight was out of the question since Atlanta was so far east and I was instructing versus participating.

So after two hours of Church on Sunday, Andy and I begrudgingly returned home to grab my stuff and head to the airport. While in the car, I noticed a flurry of emails from the other instructors noting a bunch of flights had been cancelled flying out to Atlanta. Hopeful that my flight might also be cancelled, I checked when we got home and sadly, it was still on time. We googled Atlanta weather and cancelled flights, noting due to severe weather a lot of flights had been delayed or cancelled....but apparently, not mine! So off we went to the airport and along the way, I kept calling the Delta helpline, asking if the flight "might" get cancelled. Success was not mine.

Once at the airport, I just had a bad feeling - a gut instinct you could say. Angry passengers ubiquitously filled the waiting areas complaining loudly about their cancelled flights and current ongoing attempts to get onto another flight. I sat there, still hanging on to the hope that my flight might get cancelled and that I might be able to spend the rest of Sunday at home with Andy. Again, to no avail, the flight continued to show as "on time." Simultaneously, the baby was going insane inside with kicks. He just kept kicking me! I tried to find a secluded seat and pray for help, for any guidance on whether I should just go home or wait to take the potential flight. I justified that if not all the learners or instructors arrived in Atlanta, then I might not be needed. I then justified that if the training was delayed for any reason, there was no way I could extend my travels to Wednesday. I paced around the airport, texted Andy with updates and got my hopes up when they changed us to another gate without a plane. In a few minutes, they clarified that we were still at the same gate and before I knew it, our flight was boarding.

Once on board, the flight attendants made a pregnant girl cry. They told her that her purple bag should be taken up the aisle (where passengers were still boarding) to find more overhead space, and then upon not finding any, they asked her for her seat ticket which was all the way back at her seat about 5 aisles from the last row. Frustrated and on the verge of tears, she marched back to her seat to get the ticket, brought it back to the flight attendant at the front of the plane, outraged by why a silly ticket was needed to check her bag! The flight attendant apologized but confirmed it was just procedure but the pregnant girl stormed back to her seat, and tears burst out. It wasn't fair! First, she had to travel on a Sunday, next her flight didn't get cancelled, and now, the stupid flight attendant took her bag and she would have to pick it up at the baggage claim. What was the point of packing light?!

After I calmed down from the hormonal uproar, I felt bad for the girl sitting next to me who just watched me cry unceasingly for about 10 minutes during takeoff.

During the flight, something with the main cabinet electronics went wrong and the sound and screen went out. This was not a good sign, in fact it was an omen of what was to happen. We landed safely, but my adventure had just begun. Luckily, another co-instructor was on the same flight, because had he not been, I am unsure where I would have spent the night.

We received word from the other instructors who had landed earlier that there were no longer anymore taxis on the street. We obtained my luggage, headed for the MARTA (Atlanta's public transportation train station) and waited for a train in the cold. Then, the train came and we got on. But then the train stopped and we waited for 10 minutes before we were told to get off. Then, we waited in the cold again for another 15 minutes until another train came. Then, we got onto the train to our transfer station and then we waited another 10 minutes. Then, when we finally got to our exit.... the fun really began. Imagine a street of all white snow and some mere footsteps and two lines on the floor where our luggage was being pulled. That was us for two blocks... it seemed so close, yet so far... and yet more white and more white. I can't imagine how the pioneers did it - I walked two blocks and my fingers were frozen when we finally arrived and I thought I would get frostbite (yes, I'm paranoid).

I knew I shouldn't have come to Atlanta! My nightmare in Atlanta might have been avoided had I listened more closely to the Spirit, except I couldn't quite distinguish what was the Spirit and what was me making excuses not to go. Oddly enough, I don't think it mattered much because when I didn't feel the Spirit confirm to me that I should leave and go home, it was still safe because at least I had the co-worker to lead me to the hotel. Had he not been on my flight, I'm unsure where I would have ended up or if I would have known what to do once the taxis were not available! So I guess my nightmare in Atlanta wasn't THAT bad. Although, once at the hotel, I didn't sleep well either. So I guess that's when the real nightmare happened because 5 hours later, I am teaching a class of 54 with 3 other instructors and I am kind of tired. Just slightly.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT!

Isn't it funny how the first day back to work or school always seems the worst? Somehow, all my workload seems to have accumulated over the past two weeks and is hitting me this week. Regardless of how much I have to face, I am positive that it will be a good (though tough) week! I am confident if I go in with a good attitude, try to uplift others and be honest with whomever I come in contact with (including angry managers and partners considering our lack of staff and turnover over the holiday period), everything else should be okay. I also am hoping I remember to choose the right. CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!!!

Happy first day back at work in 2011. Woo-Hoo!

She's a Sunbeam Now!

When we were in Salt Lake for Christmas, our oldest niece thought she was a sunbeam the Sunday following Christmas. Devastated that she had another week to go, she balled and balled until she couldn't anymore. So it was with great joy that I squealed at Andy across the Sunday school classroom today when I remembered that today was Sophie's first day as a sunbeam!



I didn't get a photo of her in her Sunday best dress but as you can see from the photo, her hair is curled for the extra special day!

I'm not sure if every child is as excited as Sophie was to be a sunbeam but I am taking notes in the corner, of the example her parents have been to me. Here are some of my notes thus far:

#1 My nieces are always, hands down, the best dressed girls at Church. When Church is over, they immediately change out of their dresses into play clothes (which may sometimes also be another cute "not Church" dress). What I like about this is that the girls recognize early on, even from something as minor as what they wear to Church, that they must be reverent as indicated by their special Sunday best dresses. Upon leaving Church, Sophie is always asked to change before she can eat or play. Cunningly genius, my sister-in-law also further sustains the depreciation of these cute adorable dresses while emphasizing the spiritual importance of being at Church. It's a small simple thing but in many aspects, the girls are taught, from a very early age of why it's important to dress appropriately for Church in Sunday best.

#2 Our nieces always have quiet books to keep them company throughout Sacrament, HOWEVER, nothing can be removed from the Church bag until after the Sacrament is passed. This emphasizes the importance of partaking of the Sacrament and although it is probably just bread and water to them now, they hear the prayer and they are learning, very early, that it is the most important part of the hour.

#3 If our niece acts up, she is taken from the Chapel SANS Church bag goodies. This means princess fun stays inside the Chapel but time out is outside of the Chapel. It's something so minor but so many times, I have seen kids outside with their parents playing with a toy. I think, it's not a big deal, but then I recognize, it is slowly creating a habit where the kid can just hang out outside.

These are but three simple notes I have taken but I am excited for it and cannot wait to follow the examples they have given me.