Giving my all (a post for those not faint of heart)

There are people who accuse me of giving my heart and soul to my work, but who knew that I would also be giving bodily fluids. On Monday, my boss let us know that there would be a random drug test on Wednesday (today.) On Tuesday we had a meeting to discuss what would happen. Thus it was that the HR team split up on Wednesday morning to help round up the participants in three different offices. Sadly, it turns out that I was on the list of people to be tested. I spent an hour in the conference room waiting with 16 other people until it was my turn (I was second to last to get tested.) So, for my company, I was able to give a urine sample. This was not the end of the giving though. Oh no; how could the giving stop there? Wednesday was also the day that the blood drive for the Provo Office was scheduled. I had signed up before I knew about the drug testing. So at 3pm, I went out to the bloodmobile and gave in behalf of my company. Needless to say, I didn't get all the things I wanted to get accomplished today done. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

On another note, I just noticed that this is my 250th post. Who would have thought that my blogging would have continued so long? (Oh wait, probably anyone who knows that I enjoy writing and expressing my opinions on every topic under the sun.) Have a good night dear readers. I look forward to another 250 posts in the future.

A lesson

I taught in Relief Society today. All week I have been looking over the three talks that I was supposed to speak on and then mulling over how to tie them together. Last night I got an idea for an object lesson. I brought a blown-up balloon, a bottle of water, and some crackers to church with me. The comparison came when I compared prayer to air, the scriptures to water, and obeying the commandments to food. It went something like this:

How long can you go without air? A few minutes; maybe 10 if you've trained for a long time? Since we are supposed to have a prayer in our hearts all the time, it can be like air. We should always want to be communicating with our Heavenly Father. How long can you go without water? You might be able to do it for a week before you died. Usually, people don't go an entire day without something to drink. It should be the same with the scriptures. You shouldn't be able to go a day without at least reading one verse. How long can you go without food? I don't know that you can more than a month; I personally wouldn't want to go more than a day or two. That is how often you should make sure you are obeying the commandments of God.

Anyway, all week I've been praying that my lesson would help at least one person. I learned a lot but I hoped that in some small way I could benefit someone else. On Sunday morning, my ideas didn't seem to be gelling or connecting to each other. I ended the lesson a few minutes early and felt horrible. I felt like I had failed in my objective of helping another member of my Relief Society. After my lesson, a member of the Relief Society came up to me and said "that was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much." I was shocked and so glad that I had been praying all week. Knowing that I had helped her made me so grateful that the Lord listens to prayers. In the parking lot another woman said almost the same thing. I almost teared up. Anyway, I don't normally get into spiritual things but I just wanted to share that experience with everyone.

Randy Pausch

When I got on the computer tonight, a headline on Sarah's homepage caught my eye: "Last Lecture professor dies at 47." I was suprised in a way, but shouldn't have been. For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, go to the ABC News website for more information. I first learned about Randy Pausch from Sarah, although she doesn't know it. I saw a CD on the kitchen hutch that said "Last Lecture-Randy Pausch." Being stubborn, I didn't ask Sarah about it. Instead, I turned to my trusty friend: the internet. I found his videos on Youtube and was amazed at what I saw. How could a man who had been diagnosed with cancer have such an attitude? It was amazing. I then went to his website and read more about his struggles, his passions, and his life. (As a side note, when I tried to connect to it this evening, it wasn't working.) I then went out and bought the book The Last Lecture and read it almost all in one sitting. It was inspiring and sad all at the same time. I raved about it to my coworkers the next day and even loaned my book to Emily, the payroll supervisor. (For those of you who know me, you realize how much it takes for me to loan a precious book out.) I have two quotes from the book on my whiteboard at work. The first is "Decide if you are a Tigger or an Eyore" and the other is "The brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things." I would encourage everyone to either watch the Youtube version of The Last Lecture or read the book. I only wish that I could live my life as well as Randy Pausch did. I extend my sincere condolences to his wife and children.

Sidney's Birthday

Sunday started out well as Jen, Lauren, and I went to church with Mom and Dad. Lauren was a little mischievous but all went fairly well. When we got home we started preparing for Sidney's birthday dinner. She had requested barbecue ribs (at the hinting of her grandfather,) cornbread, fruit, an Italian bread that I can't remember the name of, and angel food cake for dessert. It was a magnificent feast, as are all of my mother's meals. We had a lot of fun and the little kids loved being outside. I bought two books, Pippi Longstocking and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and some stickers for Sidney for her birthday. (The sticker's on account of Wyatt getting a hold of the last ones that I sent her.) I liked both of the books as a child and hope that she enjoys them as well. I can't believe that she is old enough to be baptised. It doesn't seem possible since I still remember the first time that Jeremy and Britnie ever let me babysit her. I held her the whole time and marveled at her little hands and feet. It is strange to remember that memory so clearly and realize that it is over seven years ago. (Wow, look at me waxing nostalgic; I must be getting old.) Anyway, after dinner we all went outside to play. Sidney and I kicked the ball around with Jordan, who realized that we weren't nearly as exciting to play soccer with as Josh is. All in all, it was a great time. I hated to go home and didn't get there until just past 11pm. I did, however, beat Sarah home from her parent's house. I am excited to see Sidney be baptised in a week and a half and have even been asked to give a short talk, which I have been pondering over when I'm not preparing my Relief Society lesson for this weekend. I hope all my readers, few that they are, are having a wonderful week and wish them all a happy 24th of July tomorrow. Unlike other Utahns, I will be working and will not be able to celebrate our pioneer heritage. Even though it is only 10:30pm, I think I will go to bed.

A flood, fights, and some fun

First, I make my apologies to any readers of my blog. I know it has been quite a while since my last post. Perhaps an explanation of my last week will somehow explain my lack of posting. Last weekend was one of little sleep. I can't really explain why, but I could not sleep worth a darn. On Friday night I was only able to get a few hours. On Saturday night, I managed to get four. I saw the sun start to rise before my eyes closed for sleep. On Sunday night, I luckily got six and so was able to go to work the next day. I was a little grump and had a very busy day. I had to work late to work in the team list and entering the new hires. I went home and did my best to get some sleep. On Tuesday I awoke from almost seven hours of sleep refreshed and alert. Little did I know that I was in for a fight. While I can't go into it, being the confidential HR issue that it was, I can say that I was extremely annoyed and let my annoyance show to my boss and co-workers. I'm afraid that no one at work could ever accuse me of being unopinionated or nonverbal. Anyway, by 6pm I was pretty tired.
A little after 6, Sarah called me to ask if I had noticed anything strange about the water that morning. I hadn't. I was then informed that we had a miniature flood at our house and Sarah was worried that the water heater had decided to become a water fountain. By the time I got home, the problem was discovered. Our next door neighbor's pipe and burst and had flooded both her townhouse and ours. Sarah used the wet vac and I used the mop and we cleaned up the best we could. The owner of the neighboring townhouse came by to say that he would be calling disaster clean-up and being paying for the whole mess. The kitchen, bathroom, hall, and over half of the front room was a wet disaster. We moved some furniture upstairs and to a neighbor's house (thanks Scotty for babysitting the chairs and a table.) At 8pm, I decided to finally sit down and have dinner. Just after my mom called, listened to my day, and then proceeded to give me some bad news. Since it is not my news to share, I won't. Needless to say, I was in tears and decided that this was a horrible, no good, very bad day. I fell into bed expecting immediate sleep but was kept awake by my concern for another. Finally I got to sleep at midnight. The next day I was tired, emotional, and not in the mood to talk. Sadly, the Facilities manager asked how my day was going and I, unfortunately, told him. The poor man looked at my tear-stained cheeks marred by the horrible bags under my eyes and promptly offered me chocolate and a listening ear. The rest of the day did not go well.
On Thursday, I had another strong disagreement with my superiors. Not to worry dear readers, I won't regale you with the sorry details and thus turn your brains to mush. By Friday, I had decided that the week couldn't get any worse. Luckily for me, I had decided to go home for the weekend to see my sister and her dear daughter. I left work at a decent hour and went shopping for Sidney's birthday gift. I got to Kaysville too late to see Lauren before she went to sleep but managed to have a good talk with my mom and sister. Jen and I talked a little more as we lay in in the dark in the twin beds downstairs. It kind of reminded me of when we were younger and I went to visit her house in Salt Lake before she was married.
On Saturday, we decided to go to a little water park in Ogden after Alison suggested it. Josh called to see if Dad wanted to go to the movie that afternoon and ended up being invited to the park so his son could play in the water. Sadly, Britnie wasn't feeling well so we didn't invite Wyatt and Sidney. Only later did I realize that I very easily could have gone and picked them up, leaving Britnie to rest in peace. (Honestly, I think my brain is working slower these days.) It was a lot of fun and we ended up at a little sandwich shop for lunch. Isaac is getting more and more adventurous and Tanner is walking quite quickly these days. After we went home, Lauren and I went down for a nap and then got up in time to play outside. Jen left for dinner with some friends and Poppy and I took Lauren for a walk. I then bathed her and Nana and I put her to bed. Lauren is getting very good at singing "Old McDonald" and "The ABC song," which I can only attribute to good genes and having a great mother. Thus ended my week. Luckily, I knew that the new week would start out well because we were going to be celebrating Sidney's birthday. Thus ends the horrible week.

An Owlz game

Tonight, I went to the Owlz game with Jen R, Angie, and Alisha. It was a lot of fun even though the Owlz lost. Afterwards we went to the Iceberg Drive-in.

Family

I haven't blogged about family recently so here goes:

In June we got together to celebrate June birthdays. I bought books for Lauren and Isaac and a meat thermometer for Dad for his Father's Day present. Aunt Linda was able to join us for our family dinner. It was finally warm enough for the kids to play outside, so we ate and played outside until everyone had to go home. I wish Linda could come out more often.

On June 28th, the Roberts clan came down to Orem for the yearly family reunion. We did it early this year so that it would be cooler but it was still pretty warm. Luckily, I spent over three hours in the pool with Sid, Wyatt, Brit, Jeremy, John, Jen, and Lauren. I forgot to reapply the sunscreen so ended up sunburned on my face, shoulders, and back. The food was good and I liked seeing all my extended family although I was really tired after swimming. Dad gave me advice about cars and I ended up reading off lists from Entertainment Weekly to a bunch of relatives.

On the morning of July 4th, I went up to my parent's house and we went to the Kaysville parade. It was great until the water part of the parade, when a boy fell off a float and got run over. He was taken by helicopter to the hospital. Luckily, the news said that he was doing fine. We then went to Allred's for lunch. Afterwards, we went home so that Isaac, Aaron, and Alison could take a nap. Josh and Brooke came and made dinner so I got to play with Tanner. We ate when Jordan came home from work at 7:30, then played "Time's Up" until nightfall. We then went outside to watch the fireworks. Mom, Josh, Brooke, Tanner, Jordan, Isaac, and Alison went down to the Allreds to watch the fireworks while Dad, Aaron, and I watched from my parent's house. Brooke, Josh, and Tanner stayed the night and I had fun playing with him the next morning. I have to say that I love spending time with my family. They are so great and I love spending time with my nieces and nephews.