Copenhagen

This has been an amazing week.  I'm in Copenhagen with my mom, enjoying our first vacation together.  We've seen some beautiful sights and still have nearly a week to go (we leave for London in the morning.)  Its been incredible to experience the city and have some time for just the two of us.

As a bonus to an already great week, I was able to be with my friends from Rio here in Copenhagen as they were awarded the 2016 Olympic Games.  It was an amazing event for them, a big deal for my company, and incredibly satisfying for me personally.  

Hope to see you all soon back at good old SUU!!!

Busy-ness

I think that most of my posts these days recount in some form or another how busy I am. I kind of feel like the busy-ness is never-ending? I've thought a lot lately about the talk that was given some time ago in conference on good, better, best. I feel like I fill up my time with a lot of good things, but my life often lacks the better and best things. So, I am putting out a plea to my dearest friends...how do you make sure that the better portion of your lives are filled with the best things in life? I am looking for some real, simple answers here. Please help me!

Glee

It's been a lovely weekend in Delhi - the first full weekend off since I got here and I took full advantage. Hit the mall for a little retail therapy and relaxed. I also spent several very happy hours this weekend watching and re-watching the first two episodes of Glee. Its been a long time since I've enjoyed a show this much.

Halfway

I'm happy about a lot of things this week:

• I'm halfway through this trip to Delhi
• We completed a huge project at work
• I booked a trip to Kathmandu in two weeks - my favorite place in this part of the world
• My niece learned to say my name - and this weekend when she saw my picture she not only said Jamie - she added an adjective - Jamie cute. Best compliment I've received in a long time.
• I've been in Delhi nearly 3 weeks and haven't been sick (a personal record for me.) It may have something to do with the fact that I brought a lot of food with me this time and haven't been eating out as much.
• I got invited to Cancun in June with some of my Texas friends. I'll be dreaming of sandy beaches until then.
• I found out a good friend is expecting and I'll be in the US so I can fly to Seattle for her baby shower and to catch up with my NW friends.

Hope your weeks were equally as good.

Craziness

I started to write the craziness of my life right now...then it didn't seem like it should be that crazy...so I guess I don't really have any great excuse for not posting. Except, I suppose, I have had other priorities this summer:

Taking my kids to Lake Tahoe and the sprinkler park.

Painting my front room.

Trying to deep clean my dirty house.

Preparing for birthday parties and baptism celebrations.

Getting kids ready to start school.

Going through my mom's possessions, the extensions of her life and the way she lived it...a privilege, to be sure.

Shuttling children to golf and gymnastics and swimming lessons (in Fallon).

Trying to grow a garden and keep a yard.

Taking pictures of babies and weddings.

Planning for trips to a wedding in Ohio and a family reunion in Florida.

Trying to keep my children clean, fed and rested.

I am sure that there's more...I just can't think of it all right now...I'm a little busy. Give me a month and maybe I'll be able to re-prioritize!

Laughter turns to pondering

When I drove past this sign this week it startled a laugh out of me.

I had plans all week to walk back to it to get a picture, which I did today. Trying to remember to grab the photo kept the sign in my thoughts all week and I found myself pondering. I found myself comparing the constant honking that permeates Delhi to those times in my life where I've kept my mind so busy with work and other noise that I can't stop to listen to the spirit. Makes me think that for my sake I need to find a little more quiet time once in a while when I can just focus on that things that really matter and not let the noise of everyday life drown out Heavenly Father.

Wedding

Last week at this time I was celebrating at my baby brother's wedding reception, today I'm sitting in Delhi - things can change quickly.

The wedding was so beautiful, but for me the best part was sitting in the temple surrounded by my family and watching my brother and his new bride be sealed together for eternity. As I sat next to my grandpa who misses my grandma so much, it was a beautiful reminder that he won't be lonely for long, that they will be together again for all eternity.

It was also a reminder to me, that I am sealed to my family. I may not have a spouse, but I do have an eternal family. Knowing I can spend an eternity with these people I love so much is an amazing blessing.

Julie & Julia

The true highlight of my week was my niece's birthday BBQ on Saturday - but since I'm planning to blog about that on my personal blog I had to search for something else to blog about here. So I'm going to put in a plug for a fun movie I saw with a good friend over the weekend, Julie & Julia.

It was so nice to go to a movie that was based on story telling and not special effects (not that I don't love a good popcorn movie) and it was also fun to watch such talented actors. Every time I see Meryl Streep in a movie I find myself spending the next several days about her amazing talent. It doesn't seem to matter what role she plays, she truly becomes someone else. I proved this by watching Mama Mia Sunday just to see her in an entirely different light.

Mostly I loved the movie for the trait both character shared - setting goals and then working like crazy to reach them. They had discipline and drive, and they found the things that inspired them in life. I hope to be more like them.

Fresh Tomatoes

We had grilled burgers for dinner tonight, with tomatoes fresh from our little garden! Sooooo delicious! That is my good report today. And a little suggestion to those who haven't yet ventured to plant a garden...at least plant a big pot with a tomato plant next year. Nothing beats a fresh, home-grown tomato. These little guys aren't much to look at, but they sure do taste good!

Shovel

I took Sadie out last night and she kept trying to look at something on the lawn. I finally got close enough and realized it was a dead rat laying on my grass - GROSS! I decided to wait until today to deal with it in the hope that some animal would carry it away overnight (wishful thinking I know.)

This afternoon, I womaned-up and got rid of it myself. Which gets me to what I'm grateful this week - the lovely long handled shovel my dad bought for me when I bought the house. It doesn't do much digging, but it comes in handy. A shovel isn't something I would call beautiful until you really need it, and today it was one of the most beautiful items in my house.