Last Ski Day of the Season

My old roommate, Linda, came into town this weekend and we went skiing! It was a beautiful day and she couldn't have pleased the snow gods more because it dumped somewhere around 5 feet of snow this week - in preparation for her ski day. I did have the great opportunity to take advantage of 24 inches of new snow/powder on Tuesday this week. Just as Nate and I got to the top of Snowbird, they opened up Mineral Basin which had been closed all the day before and .... we seriously got first tracks in all that snow. It was sweet! Best ski day of the year. Right there.

Linda and I had fun! We just toodled around and laughed at Jed as he skied around and recorded himself doing so on his camera. I was so not on my game - both Tuesday and today were rough ski days. I face planted so many times on Tuesday but it didn't hurt because I landed in the soft powder. But today. Oh today. I face planted pretty good and it wasn't nearly as soft as Tuesday! I lost a little mojo after that. And of course Jed had to document the moment.... since it was a first for him to see me take a fall while skiing. Ha!

Search and Rescue Victim

I brushed up on my acting skills tonight. I was a victim for Lindsey's Search and Rescue test of the new members. I was drunk, had gone swimming in a river and suffering from hypothermia! It was a lot of fun. And it was neat to see what the Search and Rescue team would do when they come to rescue you! I was suppose to repeat myself a lot and pretend to fall asleep (which apparently is bad when you are suffering from hypothermia) and so I kept saying that I was an indian princess and that I took my bath in the river like they are suppose to do. One of the guys told me he was my indian prince and there to save me!! Ha! Ha! What an offer! :)

It was so cold that night and we were up in a canyon... laying on the snow ... well I'd put a tarp down and then lay on the snow.

Race Practicing - Mountain Biking Style

I've done something crazy. But not alone. Lindsey and I joined my roommate's, Jen's, mountain bike racing team. We full on committed to doing at least 4 races. Whoa. The team is with the Mad Dog's Cycle shop... and we even have a few sponsors. I bought a mountain bike. And so did Lindsey. I bought eggbeaters for pedals - those are the kind where you clip in with special cleats on your shoes. Double whoa. Last year I couldn't fathom going "clipless" on a mountain bike... but now that I've been clipless on a road bike and know how wonderful it is.... I'm missing it on my mountain bike. But the pedals should be coming in soon. So yeah. Crazy, huh? I'm not good. But Lindsey and I have a deal - we'll take turns being in last place! Ha! We're just going to pretend that the races are just fun casual mountain bike rides... except with a lot of people on the trail and going pretty fast. But we'll ride together... and like I said - take turns being in last place. :)

So with that said. We've had some fun over the past week... practicing and training for our first race - which is down in Hurricane on General Conference weekend (first weekend in April) - so it's coming up! Last Saturday we went to Lambert Park in Alpine, and then Tuesday night and today we went to the race course at the mouth of Provo Canyon. Well, actually Lindsey couldn't join us today. But Ashlee joined us Tuesday and me today! These have been her only two days mountain biking ever before and she rocked!! She did so well on the downhills - including the steepest and scariest one picture here in the "victory picture." What a great day to spend her birthday! Learning new things, picking up a new hobby she's gonna love and conquering fear itself!!

Jen and Dave joined us as well to show us how it's done - they are wearing last year's team jersey - hopefully somewhat similar to what I'll be wearing and posting on this blog soon. Crazy, huh? Lindsey and I signed up mostly to make ourselves learn how to mountain bike. And so far ... it's working!

Mundane Monday - Piano Practice

I just have to blog about this... Ha! So I'm suppose to practice the piano for 45 minutes 5 or 6 days per week... and tonight I was only doing it half-heartedly. My roommate, Jana, was sitting on the stairs and we were having one of those fun roommate talks... you know about boys and stuff like that. I'd practice a song while she dished up some dinner. Then we'd talk some more. Then I'd practice again while she went up to her room for a second. Then she'd come back down to chat again. And just when I had enough - of sitting at the piano for an hour and half - I told her, just one more Sea Chanty (I've been practicing Variations on a Sea Chanty in Alfred's Level 3 Adult Course Piano Book) but for this one she should do a little jig while I played it... Ha! Ha! Ha! She ACTUALLY took me up on my offer! I did not expect that! So while I played, she danced and jigged and did the whole Russian kick behind me. Every now and then I would see her in the corner of my eye and laugh uncontrollably, which would ruin my playing, obviously!!

I love silly nights with my roommates.

Strength #5: Arranger

You are a conductor. When faced with a complex situation involving many factors, you enjoy managing all of the variables, aligning and realigning them until you are sure you have arranged them in the most productive configuration possible. In your mind there is nothing special about what you are doing. You are simply trying to figure out the best way to get things done. But others, lacking this theme, will be in awe of your ability. “How can you keep so many things in your head at once?” they will ask. “How can you stay so flexible, so willing to shelve well-laid plans in favor of some brand-new configuration that has just occurred to you?” But you cannot imagine behaving in any other way. You are a shining example of effective flexibility, whether you are changing travel schedules at the last minute because a better fare has popped up or mulling over just the right combination of people and resources to accomplish a new project. From the mundane to the complex, you are always looking for the perfect configuration. Of course, you are at your best in dynamic situations. Confronted with the unexpected, some complain that plans devised with such care cannot be changed, while others take refuge in the existing rules or procedures. You don’t do either. Instead, you jump into the confusion, devising new options, hunting for new paths of least resistance, and figuring out new partnerships – because, after all, there might just be a better way.

There is a reason why the Strengths Finder listed this one as my fifth strength... because it's not my strongest strength and therefore I don't feel like this one applies as accurately to me. Although, I do agree with it and here's why: I really find a lot of satisfaction in discovering more efficient ways of doing things, or more organized ways of doing things. Right now at work, our Compensation department - with whom I work very closely on a daily basis - is taking an aggressive approach to going paperless on as many things as possible .... and I looooooove it!! I'm all over that. When I contribute ideas as to how we can best help with that conversion someone else will contribute another idea that will either oppose or add-to my idea and then I'll have some other idea pop in my head and I'll abandon my original idea within seconds. Tackling a problem with many variables is exhilarating!

Strength #4: Achiever

Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by “every day” you mean every single day – workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.

To-do-lists. To-do-lists. To-do-lists. I always have at least one. Sometimes they're written down. Most of the time, they are just in my head. Stuff I wanna get done. I only write them down if they are so long I'm afraid I might forget an item. An item on my to-do-list might be as small as sew a button back on my shirt (which is, in fact, on my to-do-list in my head) or as large as complete my semi-annual ironing-athon (I hate ironing clothes so it seems like I only do it every 6 months - if that frequent; that's another one currently on my lists). If I don't tick one thing off my never-ending to-do-list on any given day it is a day wasted in slothful laziness and I feel worthless because of it! And it's true for vacations too! There are things I wanna see and do when I'm vacationing - that's why I'm vacationing!! And then there are THE BIG accomplishments on my horizon. For the first several years of my career since graduating from college I've taken on new responsibilities at work and obtained a promotion each year...well, now I'm in a position where I need to stay for a while and get more experience before I feel like I'd qualify for another promotion - because promotion from here is management. So, I've decided I can focus on other BIG goals outside of work.... so... within the next 2 years at least one of the following things must happen: buy a house/townhome/condo, start grad school to get my MBA, and/or move to Seattle.

Strength #3: Responsibility

Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start looking for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help – and they soon will – you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.

Heh. Yeah. Several years ago I planned a trip to Bear Lake with a good friend - it was going to be so fun. Snowmobiling. Snow shoeing. The works. And it was with a big group of people so you had to pay a deposit down beforehand and all that crazy committed way of doing things. I totally talked my good friend into going with me - we didn't know a soul who was going besides each other. And then... the guy I was interested in invited me to a cabin for the same weekend with him and some friends of his. Oh the dilemma!! I really wanted to go with this guy... see what would happen... but is seemed so morally wrong to ditch my friend and go with the guy! She's an amazing friend by the way... told me to go with the guy and said she'd be fine. So I did go with the guy. To this day, have I forgiven myself for ditching her? No way jose. I'm still hung up on it. I'm still making up for it. Not because she hasn't forgiven me or forgotten about it. She's totally forgotten about it. I have to remind her about my big mistake! But that's only on frivolous stuff, can you imagine me with important stuff? :) Oh and by the way, nothing panned out with the guy. Sigh... all the more reason to regret ditching my friend.

Strength #2: Relator

Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships. In simple terms, the Relator theme pulls you toward people you already know. You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people – in fact, you may have other themes that cause you to enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends – but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends. You are comfortable with intimacy. Once the initial connection has been made, you deliberately encourage a deepening of the relationship. You want to understand their feelings, their goals, their fears, and their dreams; and you want them to understand yours. You know that this kind of closeness implies a certain amount of risk – you might be taken advantage of – but you are willing to accept that risk. For you a relationship has value only if it is genuine. And the only way to know that is to entrust yourself to the other person. The more you share with each other, the more you risk together. The more you risk together, the more each of you proves your caring is genuine. These are your steps toward real friendship, and you take them willingly.

Wow. I could not describe this particular side of me better! It's true - if I meet someone that I really like right off the bat, then I will make a concerted effort to delve deeper with them. I can only take small talk for so long... that's what I do with acquaintances - not friends. Another biggy with me to help establish a genuine friendship is doing stuff with that person... make memories with them. Oh! And confiding in them and them in me. I consider a friend confiding in me to the be the biggest compliment they can give me and I take it seriously... because I want them to take it seriously when I confide in them. Also ... whoa... and this one is big... I don't consider a friendship to be truly genuine if the "friend" is always or nearly always backing out on me or canceling something we've planned or... the like. Obviously there are extenuating circumstances or maybe someone's lost "the mood" to do something... so just let me know ahead of time and let's plan something for later to make up for it. I'm cool with that.... as long as it doesn't become a pattern. And the reason why this is so big with me.... ??? ... you'll see tomorrow when I list strength #3!! :)

Strength #1: Harmony

You look for areas of agreement. In your view there is little to be gained from conflict and friction, so you seek to hold them to a minimum. When you know that the people around you hold differing views, you try to find the common ground. You try to steer them away from confrontation and toward harmony. In fact, harmony is one of your guiding values. You can’t quite believe how much time is wasted by people trying to impose their views on others. Wouldn’t we all be more productive if we kept our opinions in check and instead looked for consensus and support? You believe we would, and you live by that belief. When others are sounding off about their goals, their claims, and their fervently held opinions, you hold your peace. When others strike out in a direction, you will willingly, in the service of harmony, modify your own objectives to merge with theirs (as long as their basic values do not clash with yours). When others start to argue about their pet theory or concept, you steer clear of the debate, preferring to talk about practical, down-to-earth matters on which you can all agree. In your view we are all in the same boat, and we need this boat to get where we are going. It is a good boat. There is no need to rock it just to show that you can.

It's so true!! Every bit of that applies to me... so accurately. I don't like to have debates just for debate's sake (and in my opinion, they feel more like arguments). It truly is a waste of time. So if you are going to debate with me... let's do it on something that will actually affect us and that we can come to a conclusion on (in a timely manner) and move on with. There is one un-lucky friend of mine that discovered that I get really frustrated if a debate (or argument) with me drags on too long without getting resolved... and you all know what happens to me when I get frustrated.... I cry. It is physiologically impossible for me to not cry when I am frustrated. Thankfully, that level of frustration does not occur very often. And as my un-lucky friend but wise friend said, when the other person cries... the debate is done and they've won. Ha! :)

A Blog Series: I Discovered my Strengths

Back in 2003, my sister, Joni, told me about the book, Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. I bought the book and used the code in the book to take a test on-line at www.strengthsfinder.com. It determined what my 5 best strengths were. Today, I was sitting in my office and decided to re-read those strengths. And I was surprised to see how accurate I still felt those 5 strengths are... SIX years later! I thought it would be fun to post those strengths here on my blog... but I'll do it over the next 5 days... for my blog's first ever series!

Finished Quilt Top!

I finished the quilt top of my next quilt! This is my red and cream star quilt. I looove it. I'm taking it in to get it quilted soon! So it's not quite finished yet.