Day #55 - I Sense Something in the Air...

I started two different posts this evening...not sure what to write tonight. I guess I will just leave you with this tid bit as food for thought:

"Everyone wants change, but no one wants to change."

My boss said this yesterday and it is sticking with me pretty hard and causing me some thinking. I don't really think there is more to be said. OUT.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Day #54 - Heather + Travis = 18 years

WOW - 18 years sure feels like a landmark...I got online to find out what the traditional gift for this year would be...Porcelain or a trip to China or Denmark. Well...we went a bit more local for our anniversary - we went to Bandits for dinner - good 'ol fashioned BBQ.

I got Trav a pair of shorts to replace the ones I have fixed twice already. They keep getting holes by the back pockets & I keep sewing them up. Trav has really resisted getting a new pair of shorts - he likes what he likes. Travis got me flowers, which is exactly what I wanted:

Those roses are an orange color and are as big as my fist - Beautiful!! Here is what the card said (by one of my favorite photos of Trav):

In case you cannot tell it says, "Well you finally got your flowers. I hope you love them as much as I love you!!" Not long ago I hassled him about not getting me flowers anymore since they are my favorite thing in the whole world...I'm not sorry if it got me this thoughtful bouquet. Here is a picture of my office...have I ever posted one?

I guess the bistro table and chair look kind of goofy, but I like it and people sit in that chair to talk to me all the time. I love my picture of the united states - those are pictures of the states in license plates. I think it looks pretty cool. You cannot see it here, but there is a filing cabinet with a lava lamp on it...agents like to talk about it. Above my desk is where I have my family calendar. I have really come to enjoy my space.

I do love my husband very much. We have good times together and we have some bad times too, but I think we both know we are here for each other and, when it comes right down to it, that is the most important thing.

Happy Anniversary Trav!

I love you for the joy you bring to my life. I'm sorry for my part in any disputes we have, please forgive me. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being part of my life for the past 18 years. I love you!

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: from a funny card I recently saw at the store "There are 3 sure ways to have a successful, committed relationship...the problem is no one knows what they are"

Day #53 - Be Bold!

I have read and listened to many books on tape that teach about receiving and/or recognizing inspiration and then acting on it. I find myself in all kinds of inspirational mood swings lately...some days I feel enlightened and other days I feel lost and mostly I just feel unorganized, but REALLY I think I am uncertain (perhaps this is just another word for cowardly in this case).

One example is my company's Facebook page (FBP). We all know social media is pretty important these days, well, when I first got on our company FBP I was wondering why we had one at all if we weren't going to utilize it. I mentioned it in meetings and suddenly I was put in charge of directing how it should be used...huh? Since that time I have continued to look at it often and stress over it to create a benefit to the public, to the agents and to the company. I feel like the least prepared person to be in charge of this potentially important space since I seem to be technology handicapped.

Over this last week I have been experimenting with a very mysterious energetic cleansing process (not really that mysterious, but it sounds more interesting, doesn't it - more about this in a future post) and then today BOOOOOM, out of nowhere, all these ideas came filtering into my mind. I wasn't even thinking about FB when they came to me, it was just a thought, "It would be pretty cool if..." - download, download, download. Once the ideas started coming, they just dropped like rocks into my mind.

I must say these really are not SUPER revolutionary, just ideas that should not be too hard to implement, but may have the potential to be pretty cool. I am not going to list them here, but I am sure, after approval from my bosses, they will begin to unfold and I will ask my friends to become a friend of our site once it is up and running so you can see what is up. I WILL say, I am so grateful to have received these ideas and that they were so recognizable as inspiration; most days the 'obvious' signals are the best for me.

The crux of this post is here...I am tempted to put this off until I am more "comfortable" with utilizing the facebook admin functions. I have worked almost 4 full months at this company and finally put a landscape photo on our site as a banner. the logo is still not fitting right as the profile pick and no matter how I have tried to fix it, I have been unable to get it right (very frustrating). I have been so timid and worried about messing something up or being criticized for something I put on there, I just didn't do anything at all. Part of that was not knowing what to put on there, but most of it was just not trying out of fear.

Message to self:

BE BOLD!! GO FOR IT!!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE? OR BETTER YET, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO WIN?

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve yourself, and as you improve yourself, you improve your world." Dr. Joe Vitale in Zero Limits

Day #52 - Desk Job

Travis started a job with a new Telcom company. The company headquarters are outside of Utah, so Travis now works from home except when going out to meet with new clients or other employees. We have a loft where we have a table set up as a desk that has worked well for the desk top computer, but we didn't have a comfy chair to work from or a real printer set up, etc. Not only don't we have a real work from home set up, it gets incredibly hot in the loft due to the sky lights up there; not an ideal situation, especially in the high heat of August.

This past weekend we went browsing for some office furniture and found a desk, printer, chair set up that we felt we could put in the extra basement room for a home office. It seems like we are constantly buying new printers. It seems like we just bought one so we could have an at home scanner. We obviously didn't think it thru too clearly because we can only scan one page at a time...well, that is a huge pain when you have a 10 page contract that needs to be sent out. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

Tonight, after I got home from work, we went and bought it all and just spent the last 3 plus hours putting it  together. I always HATE putting furniture together, unfortunately, I am pretty good at it, so it is mostly my job when we get something new to assemble. This night I actually felt I had the better job because Trav was hauling empty boxes up and down the stairs and going to grab the drill, a smaller screw driver, etc. Plus it was amazing how much time he saved me by holding pieces up and helping to screw things in. Inevitably, I install something backwards or upside down and tonight was no exception, but it only happened once and we figured it out pretty quickly so it wasn't too bad.

The desk and printer stand are built, now tomorrow Trav will set up the new printer/scanner/copier, hang up some pictures and he will be in business. I will take some photos when it is done and post them here. I am just glad he now has a comfortable place to do his business; I think he is going to love it.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.” Napoleon Hill

Day #51 - Green Apple Tic Tacs

Today I came into the office and on my desk was a pack of white Spearmint Tic Tacs and a pack of Green Apple Tic Tacs with a note...

Not long ago I was meeting with one of my bosses concerning several updates relating to my job. While sitting next to me my boss noticed my open drawer and the Spearmint TicTacs I had in there. He asked for one and we had several over the course of the meeting. Every once in a while he would tell me how much his wife LOVES the orange Tic Tacs. Or he would ask me if I always have TicTacs on hand - what is my history with the TicTac?

I know my Dad always has some sort of breath saving mint in his car. He used to have TicTacs in there and we would all take them when we could. I think I was in his car just a few weeks ago and he now carries mint Life Savers instead. Truly, though, I just like something small to freshen things up when headed into a meeting...just-in-case, if you know what I mean.

When I went shopping that week I picked up some orange and cherry TicTacs so I would have them if my boss ever needed/wanted another one - I thought it would be funny. Next thing I know, he has written a note, thanking me for my good work, and his insistence I should "try a new flavor". Little did he know I already have a plethora of flavors...one more just makes it better. What a great boss I have...

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last." Oscar Wilde

Day #50 - Dabbler, Obsessive, Hacker

I finally got my own copy of the book club book "Mastery" by George Leonard. The book club meeting is tomorrow and I am only just caught up to what we read last week, but I found out the rocky path to mastery is often pitted with failed efforts in the following forms:

* The Dabbler...excited to start a new goal or enterprise and approaches each new area with 'enourmous enthusiasm' only to peter off when faced with the plateau.

* The Obsessive...a bottom-line type of person who must see immediate results, quick fixes. Once he gets to the plateau he can't accept it, must move upward and efforts are redoubled creating steep peaks and deep valleys.

* The Hacker...once he/she gets the hang of a thing they are content to remain 'as is' staying on the plateau indefinitely.

I can see myself in each one of these in various areas of my life. I remember talking to my boss in the recent past about life and he said life is composed of three main areas and all three must be in balance for true success or happiness (maybe not the exact words he used, but I believe I got the idea). These three areas are 1) Health, 2) Relationships (love, family, spiritual), 3) Career (this doesn't necessarily mean an actual job and I even think I have the word wrong - will have to review my notes).

When I look at these 3 areas I see the Dabbler, Obsessive and Hacker in one or more of them. If I was to pick one over all the others, I would say the Dabbler is the one I most relate to. I don't think I can count the number of goals I have started out with enormous enthusiasm, writing lists, working up schedules, buying the latest gadget to get me where I need to go, etc. I start out strong and see results and then don't follow through when the results slow or stop all together. I get disorganized and unmotivated to continue. I have certainly not learned to love the journey, to love the plateau.

Here is a direct quote I liked from the book:

"Goals and contingencies are important. But they exist in the future and in the past, beyond the pale of the sensory realm. Practice, the path of mastery, exists only in the present. You can see it, hear it, smell it, feel it. To love the plateau is to love the eternal now, to enjoy the inevitable spurts of progress and the fruits of accomplishment, then serenely to accept the new plateau that waits just beyond them. To love the plateau is to love what is most essential and enduring in your life."

At the very first of the book it asks you to touch your forehead. It is such an easy thing to do, so automatic, but even this skill had to be mastered through a series of developments and practice, learning to control the hand and direct it to that certain spot. As a baby it was impossible to master this function without learning self awareness, watching others, lots of practice, language recognition, etc. George Leonard contends that if we were able to master a skill as difficult as touching our foreheads, we can learn to do just about anything with enough joy in the journey.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "No matter where you go, there you are" Buckaroo Banzai

Day #49 - Summer Salads

My sister Amy invited me to go to a cooking class with her last Friday. Normally my auto response is "I can't" because the weekends belong to Trav and me, but since I have been looking for ways to spend more time with my sisters I decided to go for it. So glad I did.

I've only ever been to one other cooking class and thought it was fun. Amy and Lance had originally bought tickets with a more exotic class in mind, but ran out of time and Summer Salads was the only spot left and Lance had a conflict with a Daddy Son thing, so I was the lucky one that said yes.

The class was taught by a Lail Hardman who studied culinary arts abroad (in Europe) for 6 years and now owns a store at Gardner Village called Taste Culinary Boutique. There were 5 salads she made and we got to sample them all.

The funniest thing is we both made one of the salads and brought them to family dinners today. I made the Pasta Salad w/Grilled Eggplant and Feta & Amy made the Chickpea, Chorizo & Artichoke Salad. I think they both turned out quite well. The other salads are Greek Salad, Watermelon Cashew Salad & Spinach & Pancetta Salad (very good). I didn't really think I would be that impressed with salads, but there were all very good.

After eating 5 salads we sat in Amy's car and chatted for several minutes sharing wisdom, talked about the class and just having sister time in general...it was awesome. I fully intend to keep the receipts we got and I am going to see about going to another class.

I Am Grateful,

HB

Diva Quote: "A perfect sister I am not, but thankful for the one I've got." 

Trying to figure out the new phone...



Day #48 - Evidence

What evidence do you have that you can do what you think you can? This question was posed at an office meeting today. One agent shared a formula that he has hanging on his office wall - I believe he even called it a mathematical equation. He lists his biggest achievements in order of completion with his newest goal at the end of the line...

Graduate of Business School at BYU...(this should be an arrow)...Earn $250,000 in one year...Sell 50 houses in one year...sell 60 houses in one year (current goal)

This is the evidence he uses to remind himself of all he has already done and all he is capable of doing. He has already sold 50 houses in one year...what more will it take to sell just 10 more per year?

After the meeting I went back to my office and started to think this over an how it applies to my life and my personal goals as well as my business goals. My personal one looks like:

Associates of Science Degree from SLCC...Earned Real Estate License...Ran a Marathon...Cancer Survivor...Relay for Life Chair...acquired new job w/increased responsibilities/salary...Married 18 years (this is my newest one, not that I feel I am in any danger of not making that goal since my anniversary is only weeks away).

In many ways I look at this and feel like I haven't really tried hard enough to plan things out and accomplish much of note in my 38 years. In other ways it is kind of interesting to look back and pick out some highlights of my life that are goal posts, climaxes if you will, and use them as evidence of my ability to create and achieve new goals.

We just started our new book club book at the office. It is called "Mastery" by George Leonard. I just picked my copy up today so haven't started reading it yet, but at the book club meeting someone talked about how life is a series of climaxes and in between those high spots are the plateaus...it is in these plateaus that we live life and make our way toward those goals...this is where we enjoy the journey to mastery.

I am excited to read it and I think I will begin to create a vision board (it has been several years since I made one) and list some evidence along with it to remind myself I really am capable of achieving some pretty great things.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment" Buddha (I think he TRULY lived in the plateau moments)

Day #47 - Hey Pic

This weekend I got to see one of my best friends from high school - Nicole Pullham Collins. We had talked about going to lunch when she got to town and I had some things come up and decided not to go, but Pic wouldn't let me off the hook, "I wouldn't object to meeting you up there in Park City" she says, "I can drive up to Kaysville if you want" she said, "we can do dinner tomorrow if that works better"...huh, I get the feeling she means business. Travis helped me re-work my schedule and we met Pic and her husband for lunch at Lorena's in Bountiful.

It is funny every time I see Nicole, usually every 4 or 5 years it seems, she never changes. She seems to be the same since the day I met her in High School 20 years ago (ugh, yes it has been that long - longer, actually, since we graduated 20 years ago). Nicole's life looks like I always pictured mine would look like as I grew up...Nicole is a stay at home Mom, happily married with 5 beautiful, amazing kids. I'm sure that is not the whole story, but from the outside looking in that is exactly what it looks like to me.

We only had an hour for lunch and it left me wanting some one on one time with her. I want to know more about her life and if it really is that simple (in the good sense of the word)...just what I expected it to be. I'm very happy for her and very glad she insisted we meet. Thanks Pic.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." Robert Frost