Curve Balls

Why does life throw curve balls? I wonder. The events of this last year have made some things painfully apparent. I don't get to choose everything that happens to me. I don't get to make lasting plans. I don't even get to know what my life will be like next year. I'm. Not. In. Charge. It's not a fun fact, but it is a fact, nevertheless. As most of you know, two things happened to me and my family this past year that have changed my life FOREVER. One, I will bounce back from - soon, hopefully. The other will have a lasting affect on me - it might never go away.

Remember when the housing market was booming? Well, Rick and I took advantage of that and invested in some houses. And then, right in the middle of construction, the bottom fell out of the housing market. Yeah. Suffice it to say that we had a rough time. Then, right in the middle of that lovely little curve ball, another unexpected thing happened. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. You know - the thing that happens to other people, but will never happen to you? Yeah, another curve ball. At the time, I was working with a company called Cherish Bound. It was, perhaps, my very favorite job I've ever had. I LOVED going to work every day. I worked hard. I loved my co-workers. I put my heart and soul into that job. I could only see good things coming... all the possibilities for the future. Full steam ahead! Then I heard those hateful words, "You have cancer". And my life changed forever. It screeched to a halt. Seriously. My wonderful boss, and friend, Carol said, "Take as much time as you need to get better - your job will be here when you are ready." It's been 10 months. 10 months of surgeries, chemo, doctor appointments - awful stuff. I'm sooooo tired of it all. It's taken way too long - much longer than I had planned. And then, the realization came that I probably will need a different kind of job - something with hours that I can move around. There will be days when I don't feel up to going to work. My capacity for hard work has been seriously diminished. An office job just isn't the right thing anymore. I'm going to have to find something else. But, I can't stop loving Cherish Bound, so luckily, there is another direction I can go with the company. I am now a consultant for CB. I've got tons of plans, and I know this will be so much better for me and my family in the long run. But, change is a hard and painful thing.

Tonight I attended a Cherish Bound event. It was an evening for bloggers - a night of story telling, with wonderful food and good company. But, it was difficult to walk in and see what a beautiful job the corporate team did in setting this event up. Without me. I wasn't part of that. It was a weird feeling. I felt so left out. It's not that I wasn't welcomed with open arms - I was. But, my time as part of that wonderful group of people is over. I can't stand it. To tell the truth, I'm devastated. I'm sure the other bloggers wondered why I was so quiet. I'm not, usually. I'm normally a very out-going person. On any other night I would have mingled more and introduced myself. I would have made friends. But, tonight I was a little shell-shocked. I sat quietly, observing everyone else. I drank in the story atmosphere and so enjoyed hearing Wendy, Bruce, and Carol talk. I'm explaining this because I don't want the other bloggers (if they ever visit this blog), who were there, to think I'm anti-social. I'm not. It was just a hard night for me. I really enjoyed meeting all of the other bloggers. I loved the gifts that CB gave all of us. I'll blog about the night later on.

Just know that, if life spits out something that isn't in your plans, just go ahead and roll with it. Change is ok. Life is good. Everything will be fine. Eventually. And that's coming from someone who has had plenty of experience with curve balls lately.

20 Firsts

I saw this list over at La Bella Vita (www.lauravannoy.blogspot.com) and thought it looked fun, so here goes...

20 Firsts

1.Who was your FIRST dance date? That was Rick. I asked him to a girl's choice. I was only 15. I begged and begged my parents to let me go. I can't believe they said yes! (I'm the mom of 4 teenagers/adults and I would NEVER say yes to that. Probably.)

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? Of course - I wake up next to him every day. (except when he's gone to scout camp, like this week). ;-)

3. FIRST time you got stitches? The first time I remember getting stitches (correct me if I'm wrong, Mom) is when I put a knife through my finger. I was using a long, wicked looking knife to clean the dirt out of the stitching on the boat cushions and I slipped and the knife went right through my finger. We didn't pull it out because the knife was serrated. Ouch! It really hurt. I have a small scar on each side of my finger (I can still see them, and count the stitches marks).

4. What was your FIRST job? I worked at Arby's. Yeah. For years after being around that meat I wouldn't eat at Arby's. Ew.

5. FIRST car? Bwahahahaha! My dad bought me my first car from our neighbor's daughter. It was a yellow Chevrolet Vega. He redid the inside, and painted the outside red. I LOVED that car! We had just moved from South Jordan to Granger and I was planning on driving back to my same high school (Bingham) until I graduated. I thought the car was for that. Nope. I remember Dad saying "Now you can drive your new friends to school." How can I do that? Oh. (tears, screaming, etc.) Oh well, I had better friends at my new school (I would only admit that years later).

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? No one yet. It's too early for texting on a summer day. But my final text last night was from Grant, my 21-year-old son. We were trying to decide where to go to eat when he got home from work/school.

7. Who was the FIRST person you thought about this morning? Myself. Yep. I'm self-centered. But only because when I woke up I was in pain. (whine)

8. FIRST grade teacher? Are you kidding me?! I'm old. I can't remember stuff like that. But, I think I went to West Jordan Elementary - the big old two-story building. They've torn it down and replaced it with a shopping center. I told you I was old. My middle school has even been torn down (in Copperton)!

9. Where did you go on your FIRST airplane ride? Hmmmm. Well, from what I remember, it was either Arizona (to visit my grandparents), or California (for my senior trip). I really don't know. My dad worked for Western Airlines and then Delta, so I know I flew, but don't remember where.

10. Who was your FIRST best friend and do you still talk? Alicia Martinez. We were so cool together. We used to play Nancy Drew and she was always Nancy. I haven't seen her for years and years. Wonder where she is now?

11. Where was your FIRST sleepover? Yeah. 'Nother lame "remember" question. I don't. Remember.

12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? No one yet. Rick, Alex, and Matthew are all gone to scout camps, Grant left for work without waking me up, and Michael is still asleep. Oh, I talked to Cocoa (I told her to shut up and stop waking me up)! Does she count as human (Chocolate Lab). No? Oh.

13. Whose wedding were you in for the FIRST time? Probably my own. Don't think I was a bridesmaid until after I was married.

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? Ate a banana while turning on my computer to blog. I haven't even gone to the bathroom yet. Hold on.... ok, I'm back.

15. Who was your FIRST kiss? Ok, I know this sounds bad, but, I can't remember. It was either that guy with the long blond hair (can't remember his name) or that Indian guy, Sonny. Ew. I can't believe I ever kissed him. Yuck. (I blame my dad for letting me work at his arcade from the age of 12! I met some interesting (read "Disgusting") guys there.) And Dad, if I hear one word from you about Sonny, I won't talk to you anymore. Stop smiling.

16. FIRST trip to the hospital? When I was run over. But I don't remember it. My mom said I was really mad at all the doctors. Probably. That sounds like me.

17. FIRST piercing? My mom pierced my ears (she had her own hair salon and a wicked piercing gun). Ouch! She pierced my ears again after I begged her. She told me having two holes in your ears was a fad and I'd hate it eventually. I've never told her this, but.... "You were right, Mom." (She probably loves hearing that!)

18. FIRST foreign country you have been to? Mexico. I went on a cruise, during my senior year of high school, with the Jazz Band and Madrigals. That was also the LAST time I went to a foreign country. (Hint, hint, Rick).

19. When was your FIRST detention? Dentention?! Little 'ol me? No, seriously, I never got detention. I was only caught doing something naughty once, by the vice-principal. In Jr. High. And no, I'm not going to tell you what it was. Suffice it to say that I got in BIG trouble and had to call my parents (the ultimate punishment) and tell them myself. After which I got in even BIGGER trouble. Dad, remember the 2 packs in the truck? Of course you do. NOT funny. It worked, but it was NOT funny!

Well, that was fun. Take the quiz on your own blog and leave me a comment. Tell me where to go to read your answers.

My New Business

Well friends and family,

I've done it! I've decided to move from the corporate offices of Cherish Bound to my own office at my house. Yep, that's right - I'm now, officially, a Cherish Bound consultant. I'm really excited for this opportunity to build a flexible business. I love Cherish Bound and wanted to stay with them, but with my health being unpredictable right now, I probably can't have a "go to the office" job. I need more flexibility, and so having my own business seems the right way to go. I've started a business blog and would love to have you go and look at it.

www.boundtobecherished.blogspot.com

It's under construction right now, but each day I'm adding more to it. Sign up to follow it, because as soon as I get squared away and know what I'm doing, I'll be giving away CB product there. There also a great opportunity for bloggers from Utah to join me at a free night of story-telling at the Orem library on June 25th. I can't wait to go to this. Go to my CB blog to find instructions on signing up - it's first come, first serve. Look for today's blog post. (The really cool thing is that you'll get $200 of free stuff for going! Sweet!!)

Cherish Bound is such a great business to be in - the product is incredible, and the business opportunity is outstanding. Check out Cherish Bound right now.

www.cherishbound.com

If you like what you see and would love the flexibility of owning your own business, let me know. I'd love to have you on my Utah team. If you live outside of Utah, that's no problem - you'd be a great asset to my team, too. If you don't want to be a consultant, but want to preserve your memories in an easy, beautiful way - let me know. I'd love to sign you up as a customer and help you get started. Oh, and one last thing - this Labor Day weekend, Cherish Bound is holding their annual convention at the Timpanogos Story Telling Festival. Sign up as a consultant and go with me to the convention - you won't be sorry. It's a blast!!

Wish me luck!

Mule Trek

Today my youngest son, Matthew, left to go to scout camp. This is his first week-long scout camp. Here is a cute picture of him with his loaded pack.




After Matthew left, Rick and Alex got ready to leave on their mule trek. Rick went with Grant and his Priests quorum about 5 years ago on the same mule trek. A couple of guys from our church have 30-40 mules and took the 16-18 year-old boys and some of the fathers for a week, riding mules in Wind Rivers, Wyoming. They had a blast. It was dangerous, though. In fact, one of the men got bucked off a mule right at the beginning of the trek (in the parking lot) and broke both of his arms about 3 inches above the wrist. And then the mule on the trail right in front of Rick lost it's footing and fell off the cliff. And, Rick just told me that he got kicked in the head by a mule!). So, I'm a little nervous. But I think it will be ok. It's been 5 years since the last mule trek and the mules are much better with people than they were before. They are going to the high Uintah mountains this time. I know it's going to be really cold. I hope they'll be warm enough. Rick is excited to be riding the mules again. (He told me that last mule trek, one of the other men broke his hand when he punched a mule in the face to get it settled down. Bwahahaha!) They all met at 2:00 and, finally, at 5:00 they left. It took that long to get everything packed up. There's so much stuff - the pack mules will be packed about 5 feet high on their backs. It's just crazy. I'm excited for them, though. Even the prospect of sleeping in tents when it's crazy cold outside doesn't bother them. You'd think with 4 boys, I'd be a camping, hiking, outdoorsy kind of girl, but no, I love my bed too much!
Here are a few pictures of Rick, Alex and the others getting ready to go...












My older boys, Grant and Michael, are still home, but won't be here very much. That means it's "Girls Week". Chick flicks, bubble baths, staying up late, blogging, etc. Woohoo!

Family Update

It's time for an update on the fam.

Rick is out right now biking. He is a biking monster. He LOVES to bike. Nuff said.

I'm doing ok. I'm trying to exercise and eat right. I'm still sore all over, but hopefully that will get better as I'm exercising.

Grant is busy with school and work. He is going to be moving out - to his own apartment - on July 1st. Bummer.

Michael is working hard at Dominoes Pizza. He delivers. He makes lots of money on tips.

Alex is bored with summer already. He is getting ready to go on a mule trek, with Rick and the others boys (and their dads) and the leaders from the Teachers Quorum at church, on Monday.

Matthew is getting ready for scout camp (starts Monday). It is his first week-long scout camp.

Yep. Next week is my "girl" week. Three of the 4 boys will be gone. (grin) And the other two will be gone most of the time. Blogging, chick flicks, and playing to my hearts content. Yay!

Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk...

Yesterday, Rick was telling me about an interview he heard with Rush Limbaugh. It was about how much weight he has lost. He talked about the "diet" Rush was on, and then said that Rush thinks exercise is unnecessary for losing weight. I love Rush, but I just have to disagree. Yes, it's important to eat right. But, everyone should exercise. My favorite exercise (and just about the only one I can do right now) is walking. I've found the perfect place (AF Cemetery), the perfect time (early morning and after dinner), and the perfect music (soundtrack from August Rush). The following people share my enthusiasm and joy:

“Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”
-Henry David Thoreau

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
-John Muir

“Walks. The body advances, while the mind flutters around it like a bird.”
-Jules Renard

“I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see.”
-John Burroughs

“Walking: the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise.”
-Carrie Latet

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”
-Henry David Thoreau

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
-John Muir

“All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.”
-Friedrich Nietzsche

“Today I have grown taller from walking with the trees. “
-Karle Wilson Baker

“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.”
-Raymond Inmon

“Of all exercises walking is the best.”
-Thomas Jefferson

“Meandering leads to perfection.”
-Lao Tzu


There is nothing like walking - especially in the special place I've found. Walking through a cemetery is peaceful and quiet. It's beautiful. The trees and grass talk to you. The birds fly around you. The headstones breath life into you. Go for a walk - you'll feel great when you're through.

I know my craft room is in there somewhere...

Today is the day I start to clean out my craft room. Rick calls it my "Crap" room. He's right - it's full of crap. Whenever someone doesn't know where to put something, it ends up in that room.

When we first moved to this house, I knew I wanted that room in the basement. It's in the back corner of the basement and I had an extra window put in so I could look out into the backyard and watch the kids playing. So, now it's 8 years later (and my kids rarely play in the backyard anymore), and it's still not a finished room. I've got an idea of the kinds of things I want in this room - countertops in an L-shape on two of the walls. A sink. Drawers that are long and flat, to put all of my posters in. A place for all of the wrapping paper and ribbons. A nice workspace in front of the window. Etc, etc. But, before I can have any of this, I have to clean it out. And, to tell you the truth, I don't really do crafts anymore. I just don't have time. So, I'm now in the mood to get rid of stuff, and I started today.

I decided that if I did just one or two boxes (went through them and cleaned them out - storing stuff I want to keep, throwing away stuff that doesn't matter anymore, and giving the rest away) it wouldn't take too long and I wouldn't get worn out and lose interest. I didn't really want to spend the whole day in the basement, so I had Michael bring up two boxes and put them on the floor in the family room. I opened the first one and put on a movie. I worked the rest of the day on that one box. Here are some pictures of what this all looks like right now (10:00 pm). Don't laugh. This might take longer than I thought!

I just watched this and LOVED it! Enjoy...

This is Jon Schmidt's unbelievable arrangement of LOVE STORY by Taylor Swift & VIVA LA VIDA by Coldplay.

Family Reunion

This week we are vecationing in Heber, Utah. This year is Rick's parent's 50th wedding anniversary and we are celebrating by renting a house is Heber with Rick's sisters and their families. This house is HUGE - 7000 square feet! There are 7 bedrooms (big), 2 family rooms, a huge kitchen, a living room loft that overlooks the massive game room in the basement. Also in the basement is a movie theater. It's crazy big. There are 3 staircases going downstairs. We all get lost. It's been really fun. We didn't plan any big stuff, just hanging out with cousins. The kids are having fun. I'll post pictures later. The name of the house is Lindsay Lodge. Go to www.classycabins.com and you can see pictures of the house.

Today we are trying to decide if we want to go hike to Stewart Falls. I personally want to just go shopping in the little shops in Midway. ;-)