I LOVE that new car smell!

Well, I did it. I broke down and went out and bought a new car. My old car drove well, but had so much paint damage that we had to get rid of it soon to get any money out of it at all. We could pay the more than $500 it would take to get a new paint job - but would we get that $500 back when we eventually sold it? Probably not.

So, Mike and I went out Saturday (3/28) and we drove a Saturn Vue, then Monday, we drove a Hyundai Santa Fe, a Honda CR-V and a Toyota Rav4. Of all of these, the Santa Fe had the best feel, the best look (to me anyway), and the best deal.

I got so much stuff on this car for such a great deal. The dealer gave me $10,000 off sticker with some rebates they were doing and some additional rebates for being a previous Hyundai owner, plus they gave me $1100 for my car... All told, they lost money on this deal (I know cuz I saw the figures on the computer screen when we were doing my paper work).

Hmmm... this is the second car that I've bought on my lunch break. Kind of weird.

Anyway, it's a great car - I've got a V6 engine, ABS, all kinds of air bags, Electronic Stability Control, AWD, a sunroof and heated seats - cloth, of course! - and it's fabulous!

Anyone want a ride?

Direction Is Good (And Necessary)

Lately at work, I've been feeling a little direction-less - a little like I wasn't sure which path I should be taking, wondering if I'm doing the right things, tackling the right projects, and so on. It's a bit frustrating to not be sure that I'm moving in the direction that the company needs me to go. I want to do the best for my employer and you can only continue on without a clear path in front of you for so long.

Today, I got some direction. I had to go through an exercise for the CEO in which I plotted out my top 3 goals for the next 8 quarters, basically 2009-2010. That's tough to do. It's tough to sit down and answer the question "What do I want to accomplish for the next 8 quarters?" without really knowing what the rest of the company is doing.

But, I did it: 1) cuz the CEO asked for it; and, 2) because it's always a good thing to have some goals and something to reach towards. It was an exercise done in a bit of a vacuum, but valuable nonetheless.

Back to today... I had a meeting scheduled with my boss, the president of the company, and the CEO to go over my proposed plans. I got some great feedback and I got some very direct and clearcut goals for my team. I've got an idea of what I should be focusing on, where I should be looking, and what these 2 executives want to see out of me. I came out of that meeting feeling relief and less frustrated than before because I've got some goals and areas of focus.

I don't do well without goals and direction. I'm not one to just kind of wander around and hope I get where I want to - I've got lists, I make sure I know what projects are going to take to complete, I print out directions when I go on vacation simply because I don't want to be unprepared.

I need direction in my life - all areas - or I feel adrift and frustrated and unhappy. Now that I've got some direction, I can focus my energies and really dig in.

Husband Tag (Look Heather, I did it! :D)

Here we go...

How did we meet: We met during the SLC Winter Olympics in 2002 in Park City at a dance club called Harry O's. He had all these spikes in his hair and looked cute - so I started dancing with him and he asked for my number.

How long we dated before we were married: 3 1/2 years

How long we have been married: 3 1/2 years

What is my favorite feature about him: His butt; okay, seriously, his laugh (but his butt is pretty good!)

What is my favorite quality about him: His patience with me and his ability to just laugh and shrug things off

What is his nickname: Babe (or whatever I want to call him)

What is his favorite color: Blue (for the Colts) or Red (for the Utes)

What is his favorite food: Salt and pepper calamari from PF Changs

What is his favorite sport: Football

Who said the "L" word first: He did

First kiss & where: My apartment after our second date

Favorite "couple thing" to do: Watch movies together, read in bed together

How many kids: None

Hidden talent: He's great at finish carpentry

Favorite music: Godsmack

What I admire most about him: He is spontaneous and he's so warm-hearted and generous

Favorite past time: Watch football and movies

Will he read this: Probably not

When Life's Got You Down...

For whatever reason, today was stressful. I had a 2-hour meeting with my boss and the CEO of the company to go over what we've been doing with email, I came back to 20 different emails about people duplicating efforts the CEO wanting to know why, tons of banners ads had to be placed in the emails and both my team members were out sick or went home sick today and we had 4 emails that had to get ready to go out.

A lot of stuff happening. The first thing - the meeting with the bosses - always stresses me out. I come out of those meetings feeling like an idiot, like I'm not doing everything I should be, or not seeing everything I should be seeing, or not making the right decisions. I try to take the questions and suggestions for what they are - another person's point of view, another person's experience talking, constructive criticisms - but frankly, these 2 individuals intimidate me. I don't get intimidated very often, but these 2 will do it every time. And I HATE IT!

The rest of the stuff is just normal, stupid stuff. It happens, you deal with it, and move on. Unfortunately, I think this situation is one where the CEO is going to make a point and that's too bad cuz it sucks seeing his emails come through asking the questions designed to elicit certain pieces of information.

But, just when things were not looking good, Mike shows up with lunch. He actually brought in a burner and a skillet and made me a cheese quesadilla. How fantastic is that?! He knew I was having a rough day and he just brought this stuff in, went into the breakroom and made me lunch. Then, he came in and sat down with me and we just chatted. It really helped me break through the funk that was wearing me down.

He's definitely a keeper, as my colleague said, he's definitely a keeper.

Why 5 Days?

I'll admit it - I don't get a lot of things and if I'd just have more faith, I'd probably not worry about stupid stuff quite so much. But, here's something I really do not understand...

Why is YW's Girl's Camp 5 days long out here in Utah? The few years I went in Wyoming, it was about 2 1/2 days and that was plenty long enough. I mean, it's not like we were out there doing survival training or earning merit badges or anything like that. We had enough time to be in nature with friends and have a few really good, sometimes spiritual, experiences. Then we went home.

But, what do you do for 5 days? And, who has time to take 5 days off and go make sure a bunch of teenagers don't get into trouble, or hurt, or do something stupid? I don't and I can guarantee those leaders that have little kids don't either.

It doesn't make any sense to me. I suppose that I just need to trust that the stake and regional leaders knew what they were doing. I'll work on that...

We moved it up a month...

And I'm scared...

Okay, scared isn't the right word... Nervous, anxious, a little fluttery in the stomach area, hopeful...

The Strength of Youth

About 3 or 4 months ago, I was called to be the Laurel Advisor in my ward. I wasn't so sure about it - I've been so tired recently, the last year had been pretty tough, and I just didn't know if I had the emotional reserves.

I accepted, cuz that's what you do when extended a calling, and it's been a good time thus far. The girls are good, the leaders are great, the Young Women President is pretty grounded.

Tonight we had the New Beginnings program for Personal Progress. The Church has added a new value to the Young Women Theme - virtue - and I was asked to introduce it. It was a pretty spiritual experience (and I bawled like a baby).

These young women are incredibly strong and have really great testimonies. The world is putting a lot of pressure on our youth to be anything other than a strong son or daughter of God. It's so easy to slip and commit serious sin. I pray that the youth today can stay strong and understand their true worth.

He's a good kitty...

A scaredy kitty, but a good kitty. His name is Schwammi and he's about 6 years old now.

Mike found him at a job site in Spanish Fork about 5 years ago and, after asking around to see if anyone was missing a little kitty, he snuck him home and put him in the little shed in the backyard. (His dad didn't want another cat after their last one, Trigger, had died.)

Schwammi was about 6 months old when Mike found him, but looked more like about 2 months old because he was so undernourished. He's grown quite a bit from the little, cute, somewhat pathetic-looking little kitty with a really sad meow.

Now, he's big and well-fed and curious, and yes, scared of everything. He runs away from all strangers, but is curious enough to watch from around the corner. He will try any food - if he's in the basement with us and we have dinner plates, he'll come up and put his face right next to the plate. He enjoys yogurt, Lifesaver sours, mashed potatoes and gravy from KFC, and tuna - of course.

The funniest thing he does is plop on the floor and roll over onto his back and spread his legs - all the better for you to scratch his belly.

He's an outdoor cat right now, but when we move from Dean's place, we're going to find a place that will take a pets and make him into an indoor cat. So, all you allergic family members out there, bring your Benadryl with you when you come to stay!

Update - just saw something else funny. Mike and I are watching "Dogs 101" on Animal Planet right now and had paused it on a close-up image of a dog. Mike grabbed Schwammi and held him up next to the TV. Schwam immediately let out a hiss and reached out with his claws. Mike started to put him down and Schwam again let out a hiss and then bolted for the living room door where he peaked into the room with his back all arched up and his fur extended. Pretty hilarious.

Winter Wonderland!

The snow has been falling... and falling... and falling...

The weekend before Christmas we had a crazy storm that brought in large amounts of snow. Right before Christmas, we got another load of snow dumped on us. Mike had a hard time getting out of our culdesac with his car - he got stuck 4 times just trying to get out of our neighborhood. Yep, 4 times. This storm gave us probably 8 inches of snow.

The last couple of days we ended up with another 12 inches or so. Really light, dry, powdery snow, but still crazy amounts. The ski resorts around the Wasatch Front are loving it because the base is so fantastic right now, but it's a different story down here in town since we aren't seeing the snow plows very often. I don't know that they plowed our neighborhood once around Christmas. We had to get a guy in the ward to do that for us so that we could at least drive around without getting stuck.

Here's a picture of a little kid's picnic table covered in snow. The green thing is the top of the table and that's about 18 inches of snow piled on top of it:


Hopefully all the snow will help with the drought situation that Utah's been in for a while. It was looking like a dry winter, but fingers are crossed that we'll continue to get good amounts of moisture throughout the winter.

How do I get used to having a camera?

So, my husband gets me this fabulous digital camera for Christmas. It has exactly what I want, it's not super-tiny (like the cell phone in Zoolander) and it's just all-around wonderful.

The problem? I forget that I have it. So, I'm not taking any pictures (not that Mike and I are all that exciting but still).

The question? How do I get used to having a camera around so that when something exciting does happen I'm ready for it?

I'm open to all suggestions.