Why I loathe the post office

I had to go to the post office on Saturday to mail a special little package. Of course, the post office is closed but no big deal -- they have the automated postal center thingy so I go in and find myself third in line. There's a guy at the machine who seems to be a little challenged by technology but he finishes up and the blonde woman in front of me is next. I note that she has several little packages in her hands. Since I have nothing better to do, I count her packages.

There are six of them. Oh and there are now three people in line behind me.

Blondie slowly but surely gets through the six packages and I think it's my turn but, no. She puts a little envelope on the scale. I lean around her and notice more envelopes in her hand and stifle a loud, annoyed sigh. I begin to count again the little envelopes and there are SEVEN of them in her hand.

In case you aren't keeping track, that's 13 packages for which she's purchasing postage.

I turn around and the people behind me and I roll our eyes in unison. More people enter the post office and there's now a crowd of about 8 people waiting. When Blondie is on her second to the last envelope, a woman somewhere behind me calls up to her, "are you going to be much longer?" She doesn't turn around but says that she's about done. Then, the heavens open and angelic choirs begin to sing. She's finished!

I check my cell and I was in there at least 16 minutes. I spent maybe one minute sending my own package. Now, I know she was there first but is it really okay for her to mail 13 packages with a crowd of people behind her? Or should the post office instigate a "5 items or less" policy?

My week in emotions

So in case you haven't noticed, I haven't blogged since last Saturday - a case of blogger block, I suspect. But today I've got a recap for you. This week, I felt...

• Honored: I was interviewed by the warm and wonderful Gabi. I so enjoyed having the opportunity to answer her thought-provoking questions about my life as a single girl. If you're not too sick of me, click here to read the interview.
• Thrilled: I have lots of wonderful young women I love (and the ones who read my blog are my favorites - you know you are!) However, I have two young men I'm especially close to and one came home from his mission this week. Greg spent the last two years serving and loving the people of Mozambique and I was blessed to be included in the family welcome home party on Thursday. (I didn't cry at the airport but I am now just remembering it.) It was such a wonderful, heartwarming, almost dream-like experience to see him home again, safe, tan and with a permanent smile on his face. Being in his presence Thursday night was just fantastic - he's an incredible young man. His mom called yesterday, his first full day at home, to say, "today has been a little bit of heaven." I'm crying again! Now, if his big suitcase would miraculously come home...sigh. We're not sure if it was stolen in Africa or if it's just lost. Prayers are welcome & appreciated! I can't post pictures here but they'll be on Facebook today.
• Nervous: I was officially given extra responsibilities at work this week because someone was laid off. I love being busy but I'm worried about adding the new stuff into an already busy workload. One of the projects is a little overwhelming in scope, as well. Can I really do it all?
• Excited: I loved seeing David Osmond make it to Hollywood on American Idol this week. I absolutely love his voice. I was obsessed with this performance he and his brothers did "after the show" on Oprah last year. I could not stop watching it even though Oprah did the whole "I'm trying to sing along even though I don't really know the words" thing. Oh, Oprah!
• Annoyed: I woke up to kitchen outlets that refused to work. I spent 20 minutes hitting the stupid test/reset buttons and flipping the breaker and now they work. Being a home owner is good except on morning's like today.

With that, I must go. I have to shower, shampoo and shine. ;) Today I'm preparing my Sharing Time for tomorrow, going to Costco with Kim, baking for Greg's open house tomorrow night, and going to watch Road Shows performed by our fantastic youth tonight. Fun, fun, FUN!

The I's have it -- a weekly summary

This week...

I tried a salted caramel hot chocolate at Starbucks. Interesting but good. I prefer the black and white when I go there but truly, the best hot chocolate is the Cocoa Trio at Seattle's Best Coffee. Trust me.

I listened to the "Wicked" soundtrack. It's been a long time but it's still so wonderful.

I cried while watching "Grey's Anatomy." Between the Izzy/Denny stuff and then Meredith falling apart at the end, it was a sobfest at my house watching this week's episode.

I missed my mom who is in Hawaii this week.

I baked two cakes: the infamous carrot cake and a chocolate cake with a white chocolate mint ganache filling (will email recipes if you want them.) Tomorrow I'll be baking more brownies for our oft-rescheduled Priesthood Preview.

I bought some non-ugly glasses to read with at night when my eyes are tired and...

I feared that I will soon need to get bifocals so I can see. Getting old sucks.

I worried about YW camp. Our first 2nd YCL planning meeting is February 4 and this year's group is likely going to be a challenge to lead. I asked my home teacher for a blessing and he of course said yes and he and his wife invited me over for dinner as well (we're doing it the Sunday before the meeting.) I love having a wonderful home teacher.

I sighed with relief when my boss returned home safe and sound from a trip to a scary place.

I laughed watching Bill Clinton appear to stare longingly at Michelle Obama in her beautiful lemongrass outfit when she turned away after they greeted each other on the dais at the inaguration. Did nobody else notice this?

I read the New York Times on my Kindle. It's a free subscription for two weeks. It makes me feel smarter (at least until the two weeks are up and then I'll be "normal" again.)

I anticipated a fun dinner party with old friends tonight (the reason I baked the chocolate cake.) The girls I'll be hanging with are like my sisters.

Hope you all had a great week too!

Biggest Loser = LAME!

If you haven't watched tonight's show, stop reading now.

I cannot believe they left that annoying Joelle on the show and sent sweet Damien home. I hate the whole gameplay aspect of this show. Hate it! Granted, Damien would have gone home anyway since he lost the least but attitude should count for something! (I'm a Pollyanna, I know.) I was so looking forward to no Joelle next week. Dang it.

I so loved the Inauguration coverage today. I'm excited and hopeful for what's ahead for our country. Plus I love any family that so obviously loves each other. And you've gotta love Mrs. Obama's style (both for her and her girls.)

And finally, I took my niece to preschool today and told her we were getting a new president today and she said, "President Monson?" I explained that he was the president of our church but that today we were getting a new president of the United States. I told her his name was Barack Obama. She said, "that sounds like a place." Ha!

Here's a picture of her - she's way cute.

A stinky Monday + a few questions

So I've been on this two day spiritual high, feeling great, etc. Then I wake up this morning and have this strong feeling like I don't want to go into the office. I didn't think much of it because truly, I have that feeling a lot. I hemmed and hawed and went back and forth. At 7 AM I checked my work email and schedules to see what sort of impact my working from home would have on my coworkers (my boss is out of town.) I finally made the decision to go in because I'm working from home on Tuesday and didn't want to be "absent" two days in a row.

I gather my things together, including the FROM SCRATCH carrot cake I made for my friends and head out the door. I step from the walkway onto the parking lot and it's so icy that I slip and my feet go out from under me and I land flat on my back. I was wearing sensible (aka ugly) shoes too! Thankfully, nobody saw me.

I grab for the cake, which was in a covered 9x13 pan. The lid slid off part way so a fraction of it now has pine needles stuck in the FROM SCRATCH cream cheese frosting. I decide to just go back in the house, put my pajamas back on and stay home. My back and neck hurt a little but nothing terrible. I'm able to scrape off the frosting that got messed up on the cake and put cut pieces on a plate to deliver at lunchtime. I also discover that I gouged my cute 6 month old cell phone in the fall. Dang.

So the question of the day is...did I ignore a prompting?

I kind of think I did.

But wait, I have a few, much less important questions:

• Why is the sound so quiet on "24" (the TV show) until the clock starts ticking?
• Do I even want to watch "24" this season?
• Why did my eyes have to get so bad that I'm on the lookout for cute/non-old-lady-ish readers?
• Do cute/non-old-lady-ish readers even exist?

Looking forward to reading your answers in the comments - don't leave me hanging!

Fulfillment

This is a personal and self-indulgent blog entry. Proceed at your own risk.

I had the great opportunity last night to listen to Sister Julie Beck, the General Relief Society President, speak to a packed chapel and gym full of Relief Society sisters. Prior to her talk, we were counseled (through a letter from the First Presidency) to not publish our notes from meetings with church leaders so I will only share my feelings and impressions because I am a rule follower!

I, like a lot of people, don't have the ideal life that I planned for myself as a teenager but Heavenly Father didn't promise us the "dream. " He promised us experiences. My experience here on earth isn't necessarily what I would have chosen for myself but it really isn't bad being me. I have a lovely, wonderful life and I'm surrounded by equally lovely and wonderful people who support and love me. Some people might think I'm missing out because I don't have the ideal but I received a powerful witness last night about my role as a single woman on this earth at this time. It confirmed to me something I know (most of the time) that I'm not missing out on anything at all.

My responsibilities as a single sister are great. I'm to take care of wives and mothers who are weary because I have the energy and strength to do so. I'm to take care of the poor, the needy, to do missionary work, to work in the temple. Sister Beck also mentioned that many of the single sisters are technologically savvy and I laughed at that part because, hello, I am the gadget queen!

I talked to two friends today at church who also attended the meeting last night and they both said to me "weren't you overwhelmed by what you're supposed to do as a single sister in the church?" And honestly, I'm not. Not even a tiny little bit. My life has always been filled with purpose and direction and last night was just a sweet confirmation that I'm living the kind of life my Heavenly Father wants me to live. Of course, I need to do more (don't we all!) but I only feel peace and contentment as the messages from last night mill about in my head. I'm fulfilled by my role as a single sister. I'm grateful that I finally have some kind of explanation as to why I am the way that I am.

It's okay for me to still want the ideal, to hope for a husband who is a faithful Priesthood holder and a family to call my own. But you know what? I'm going to continue doing what I already do which is to acknowledge the sad and the hurt when it comes and move forward. I'm going to magnify the gifts I've been given instead of wishing for things I don't have. I'm also going to enjoy the experiences as they come my way (please say you'll remind me of that when life gets crummy??)

And now, I've gotta go make a carrot cake for my friend with lung cancer. And yes, I planned to do that BEFORE last night!

Saturday status -- before I take a nap

I just got home from our annual Primary pajama breakfast. It always sort of amazes me how these things come together and then I'm amazed again when activities go so well. We had yummy food, a good turnout, nearly every teacher/Primary worker attended, the kids had fun and on and on. My angelic mother helped me make 100 pancakes last night. She is truly the best. Here's a picture of our Primary presidency:

Later today I'm going with some friends to hear Sister Julie Beck speak. I can't wait!

A fix-up is afoot at work. It's a guy I've never met but we have mutual friends. We'll see if anything happens but I'm a bit nervous. I don't really enjoy fix-ups.

TV: Wuthering Heights is going to be on PBS Masterpiece Classic tomorrow night and next Sunday! I enjoyed American Idol this week. I still haven't watched Biggest Loser but I saw Bob's freakout. Sheesh! I loved Dwight's little song on the Office. So funny!

And that's all I've got...Shaw out! (I need a last name with two syllables, don't I?)

Dear upstairs neighbor,

We live in condos that have pretty well soundproofed walls but crappy soundproofing between the floors/ceilings. At the risk of sounding like a crochety old woman (and because I'm passive-aggressive), I'm compiling a list of things you do, on a blog you don't know even exists, that drive me crazy:

1. Do you ever take your shoes off when you're at home? Ever?
2. Is it really necessary to do laundry at 11:30 PM on a Tuesday night? How about at 6 AM on a Saturday? I know things come up, you run out of underwear, whatever, but seriously, once a week?
3. And while we're talking about laundry, did you ever stop to think that if you start a load of laundry and then get in your car and drive away, it MIGHT not be a good idea? At least 1-2 times a month, your washing machine goes off balance or whatever and you're not there to stop it. I keep waiting for it to fall through the ceiling as it's thumping away but it hasn't yet. Maybe you could try smaller, better-balanced loads? Just a suggestion...
4. I admire the fact that you walk on your treadmill every day but at 10:45 PM on a weeknight? Treadmills are kind of loud, in case you weren't aware.
5. Do you go through a lot of toilet seats? I would think dropping the lid from the upright position so that it slams on the porcelain bowl each time you use it would end up causing something to crack eventually.
6. Would you consider buying a newer, less squeaky bed? Preferably before your next sleepover?

All of these reasons have caused me to have to sleep with earplugs. I don't feel overly safe sleeping with earplugs living in a ground floor condo. It would make me happy to be able to hear the axe murderers and rapists as they are breaking in rather than when they are already in the room and standing over my bed. I do keep a baseball bat under my bed but I really think I need the element of surprise to be effective.

Thanks for the consideration,
Your perfect neighbor

Happiness is...

Since I know you're wondering, my idea of happiness is hugging Mr. Crushworthy on a Tuesday morning.

Sigh.

Since I haven't talked about him in awhile, I will confirm that yes, he is still quite dreamy.

I know you're all wondering what he looks like and well, he looks a little like Dean Winters. If you've never heard of him, you've probably seen him in something:

Yum.

My confession.

Dear you know who,

I have to confess a lie. It was a lie on the Sabbath which we all know is the WORST! When you called and asked if I was ready for church, I said "of course." But truly, I was in my pajamas and I hadn't washed my hair since Thursday. I could tell by your voice what you needed to hear, so I lied. And come on, we all know friends are more important than clean hair.

Now I have to go back to watching "The Bachelor" with my hands over my eyes. Cute Jason has kissed like 4 different girls tonight and it's only week 2! Holy cow, this show embarrasses me but I cannot stop watching it.

Love you forever,
me

Things I love right now

• A warm home
• Taco salad for dinner
• The West Wing reruns on Bravo
• Being almost overwhelmed by the Spirit during Fast and Testimony meeting
• A surprise Sunday afternoon snow that lasted long enough to keep me home last night but not enough that I couldn't go to work today
• The fact that Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell named one of their twin daughters after Dolly Parton

How I spent New Year's Day

Get ready -- it was a VERY exciting day, befitting a young (in my mind) and carefree single girl like myself:

• Set my alarm for 8:15 so I wouldn't sleep the day away.
• Immediately got sucked into the day long "Biggest Loser 3" marathon. Watched every episode. Yes, 13 hours long. I am so impressed with myself.
• I showered but returned immediately to my pajamas.
• I made the somewhat difficult decision to not ever eat my beloved taco soup again (heartburn - blech.) I have two containers of really wonderful soup if anyone wants it.
• Did the dishes from the baking I did the day before.
• Played a game on my computer.
• Accidentally marked as "read" the over 350 unread posts in my Google Reader. That was strangely freeing (they were only the stamping blogs, not the "favorites" that I keep current on. You know I'm talking about yours.)
• Drank a lot of water. I love water.
• Made the decision to officially take a day of vacation tomorrow. Yes, we're supposed to go back to work on a Friday. How lame is that? But I've grown too fond of being leisurely. Work can wait until Monday.
• Said goodbye to one of my most favorite girls, Callie, who returns to BYU on Friday. We finished the jigsaw puzzle we started a few nights before and talked about her dreamy boyfriend. It was a wonderful way to end the night.
• Blogged.

What I did not do: talk on the phone, watch football or nap. It was a good day to think and ponder what I want to work on in 2009. Maybe I'll blog about that, maybe I won't. ;)