BEST. FHE. EVER.

I've been working on my math skills.
Thai food (aka pumpkin curry) + snow shoes = one very happy girl + one perfect evening

blank spreadsheets, cheerio shapes, and license plates; or "we're half way to somewhere! we're almost there!"

-so. i work in a brand new office. for some reason we've been having a hard time with our billing office. there's been a communication problem as of late (perhaps it has something to do with the 2400 miles between us), but we're working through it. i've been trying to be uber responsible and very clear in all my e-mails to diane, but for some reason, this week didn't really work out in my favor. on tuesday, i tried to e-mail the deposit to her and somehow managed to send her tuesday's a second time. on thursday i realized the genius of my ways and tried to re-attach wednesday's. this time i sent her a blank spreadsheet. i'm telling you-sheer genius!!! she sent me some smart e-mail about it being the end of the week i refrained from reaching through the computer and throwing a nerf dart in her general direction. in the end i had to track down the hard copy and re-type it all, but she got her spreadsheet. it was kind of a rough week on the excel front.
-yesterday wiggles and i spent a good 35 minutes making shapes out of cheerios on the kitchen table and then he ate them. i had to sneak my cheerios from the surplus pile. we to share a mutual love for cheerios.
-i got my new license plates in the mail!
-so my room has been out of control for the past...oh i don't know-9 months? i grounded myself this weekend. i wasn't allowed to do anything exciting until i cleaned my room. i'm almost done. in the midst of cleaning frenzy i found a video camera that i got for christmas a couple of years ago. i also found it's charger so i charged it and just spent the past 2 hours re-watching the clips on it. can i tell you how much i loved my cruise? it was fantastic. somewhere in the midst of an end of the day interview, one of the girls mentioned something about our tour guide in belize. it triggered in my mind on of my favorite things that i learned in belize.
edwin, one of the tour guides, made the comment "come on guys, we're half way to somewhere. we're almost there!" the more i think about that, the more i like it, and the more profound it gets. edwin, where ever you are...thank you.
side note: can i tell you how awesome it is to be woken up at 7:00am to my roommates walking into my room in formal wear? one was in her wedding dress. the other was in the dress for her brother's wedding. they both looked absolutely fantastic (even if one had just woken up and the other had just finished a 12 hour shift at the hospital). and made me supremely happy.

Remember how I thought my life was going to be boring?

Well. This is what I've got.
1) yesterday morning i got to work to find the rheumatologists in front of the building, one with a camera, the other with a broom. after a second glance i noticed that our pillar in front of the building was collapsing under itself. i asked the camera man what happened and he said said, the white truck happened. i turned around to look at the offending truck. the bumper looked fine. the hood however had a 2'x2' brick square firmly settled in the hood and front windshield. it was exciting. apparently it has happened before. sort of. last time the car went through the front windows and not the pillar.
2) about 2:30 school gets out next door. i may or may not be highly fascinated by the driving range that takes place in the parking lot. (i think it's hilarious to see the kids out of the cars and setting up the orange cones that they just knocked over.) yesterday the excitement did not take place in the driving range. it was in the middle of the road. one of the students rear ended another. it was interesting to see exactly how many students felt the need to congregate until the police arrived. it was a 2 car accident, 3 girls. there were at least 30 kids there. i was amused.
3) my accident was 4 weeks ago yesterday.

And I thought my life was going to be boring...

When I quit my last job, one of my friends was greatly concerned that I wouldn't have good stories anymore. Here are a few of the new ones.
1) Dear Patient.
I do not judge you for testing positive for marijuana. I do judge you for "spilling" your sample all over my bathroom floor.
Love,
Me
2) I walked down the hall the other day and found one of my doctor's leaning against the sign for the women's rest room with his hand. I just looked at him, no questioning, no skepticism. He said to me, "I'm just trying to see if I can read braille."
3) One of the girls I work with told us today that she asks our patients if they have a leg that they prefer to have less hair than the other. Yes. I know that grounding pads will take it off, but really? She does ask in all sincerity. I don't think I could do it with a straight face.

#201

201. Maria Lewis

i wonder...

I feel like I need to update this thing. I just realized that this is post number 200 so I feel like I should do something exciting for it. In the spirit of gratitude which I currently feel, we're going to see if I can come up with 200 things I am grateful for before my brother comes home. Here goes nothing: (in no particular order)
1. my brother (today's his birthday)
2. i'm not the only one in my family who stays up late reading (just found my nephew with the berenstein bears)
3. good food
4. my parents
5. cell phones
6. heated seats
7. aquariums
8. books
9. pianos
10. massages
11. vacations
12. the scriptures
13. history
14. good examples
15. hoodies
16. friends
17. field trips
18. chile
19. fuzzy boots
20. laughter
21. chocolate (especially dark)
22. computers
23. my nephews
24. bread and cheese nights
25. hot laundry
26. river rafting
27. quiet snowfalls
28. movies
29. letters
30. missionaries
31. scrubs
32. road trips
33. aspirations
34. high school theater
35. good examples
36. projects
37. snow shoes
38. adopted families
39. time machines
40. sarcasm
41. hair bands (elastics)
42. factoids
43. strawberries
44. chacos
45. beds
46. fans
47. water heaters
48. wide open spaces
49. good books
50. blue skies
51. popcorn
52. family reunions
53. amusement parks
54. mother nature
55. continuing education classes
56. pop culture
57. critical thinking
58. good credit
59. water
60. memories
61. art
62. cute bags
63. runner's high
64. blog-o-sphere
65. vietnamese war literature
66. curious george
67. white noise
68. rocks
69. windows
70. sunshine
71. rain boots
72. sisters
73. toilet paper
74. chocolate milk
75. flowers
76. green
77. security
78. faith
79. my heritage
80. hobbies
81. education
82. hiking
83. sleep
84. people who care
85. spanish
86. my testimony
87. music
88. the screaming children outside the window do not appear to be waking my nephews
89. gardens
90. people who share their talents
91. good conversations
92. bean bags/love sacs
93. movie nights
94. cheese
95. BBC
96. post cards
97. writing
98. good listeners
99. lotion
100. quiet (the screaming children are gone now)
101. warm homes
102. toys
103. book stores
104. national parks
105. people with individual style
106. glow bugs (fire flies)
107. plants
108. furnaces
109. cars
110. banana chairs
111. trivial pursuit
112. ice hockey
113. neighbors
114. authors
115. garden gnomes
116. quilts
117. bright colors
118. shade
119. ice cream
120. roommates
121. cameras
122. zoos
123. employment
124. munchkins (not my nephews)
125. dinosaurs
126. puzzles
127. flat irons
128. libraries
129. socks
130. the funnies
131. pedicures
132. airplanes
133. lap tops
134. home teachers
135. fabric stores
136. understanding people
137. my childhood
138. teachers
139. temples
140. notebooks
141. feather pillows
142. thunder storms
143. canning season
144. theater
145. spell check
146. hot tubs
147. running shoes
148. good health
149. water bottles
150. old buildings
151. cooking
152. good co-workers
153. references
154. newspapers
155. anticipation
156. lasagna
157. trial and error
158. puns
159. opportunity
160. visiting teachers
161. game nights
162. rice bags
163. dollar theaters
164. big cities
165. change
166. pro/con lists
167. experiences
168. pals
169. my grandparents
170. gratitude
171. debates/arguments
172. random holidays
173. sewing machines
174. over-stuffed chairs
175. mentors
176. pictures
177. good stress
178. endorsements
179. yoga
180. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
181. my passport
182. clocks
183. scarves
184. down (as in feathers)
185. mountains
186. chocolate mint soy milk
187. stewardesses
188. kind deeds
189. funny stories
190. success
191. families
192. big trucks
193. long distance parties
194. fresh produce
195. sacrifice
196. hair cuts
197. freedom
198. oceans
199. cool wind
200. paperclips
I totally did it! They're just walking in the door.

Making due...

So I had a fantastic 2010. Many of my close friends and family members don't feel the same way about their 2010. I'm beginning to feel the same way about 2011 that they feel about 2010. It's been a rough couple of weeks. My laptop died and I totaled my car but I have tried to quietly count my blessings so I don't get sucked into a 52 week bog of pessimism. This is the kind of thing that I would keep in a file on my computer, but I haven't loaded Word yet so the blog gets it. Relief Society was perfect for me today. We talked about "Faith-the Choice Is Yours" from the October 2010 General Conference. I've been thinking about faith quite a bit this year. I think it all started with my mom taking me to the airport EARLY in the morning the day I came home after Christmas. We talked about faith and the concept of stepping from light into the dark without knowing exactly what we'll find there. My first step in the dark has me stepping back into the classroom. I've started a class with the intent of going back to school for a masters. Interestingly enough, it's a philosophy class called WORLD RELIGIONS. I'm sure you'll hear more about that later. As I've considered the "step into the dark" faith, I've kind of created another analogy in my mind. Faith is like a zip line. So many times we stand on the edge of the platform and say "Okay. I'm going to jump. I'm going to jump right off this platform unless you tell me not to. I jumping right now unless you stop me!" And that's it. We talk about how we're going off the edge without actually going off the edge. I'm not going to lie. Zip lines freak me out. It's jumping off a platform and hoping that your harness and cables really do engage and send you on the ride of your life. Initially it's terrifying, but there is quite the rush after. Kind of like faith, yeah? He's not going to set us up for failure. Okay. Now that I've spilled the contents of my brain, lets move on to the talk. I have a few quotes that made me think.

Because of the conflicts and challenges we face in today's world, I wish to suggest a single choice--a choice of peace and protection and a choice that is appropriate for all. That choice is Faith. Be aware that faith is not a free gift given without thought, desire, or effort. It does not come as the dew falls from heaven. The Savior said, "Come unto me" and "Knock and it shall be [given] you". These are action verbs--come, knock. They are choices. So I say, choose faith. Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and unseen, and choose faith over pessimism.

This is SO TRUE!!! Since I was in Middle School (and probably before) I remember my mother telling me when I left for school, "Make it a good day." It's my choice. I choose to have a good day. I choose to have a bad day. I choose to believe. I choose not to believe. One more quote and I'm finished. The quote is a response to Matthew 17:20" If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove".

I have never witnessed the removal of an actual mountain. But because of faith, I have seen a mountain of doubt and despair removed and replaced with hope and optimism. Because of faith, I have personally witnessed a mountain of sin replaced with repentance and forgiveness. And because of faith, I have personally witnessed a mountain of pain replaced with peace, hope, and gratitude. Yes, I have seen mountains removed.

Knowing these things to be true has changed my life. It gives me a sense of direction and security that can't bring me anything but optimism, joy and peace. I am so grateful to know these things and have them in my life each day. It makes me happy.