Day 5 of 30 Thankful Days

Day 5: I am grateful to live in California (where it was a balmy 76 degrees today).

In detail:

As I was driving to work today, sitting in traffic, I happened to look up and actually SEE how beautiful the world around me is.  I feel very privileged to live in an area where on my morning commute I can pass more species of trees than I can name, in a variety of stages (fall colors, bright green, I've even seen some blossoming at odd times of the year).  
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I'm also grateful to live in an area where I can get to the ocean, hills, mountains, lakes, forests and major cities within a couple of hours.

I'll admit a certain amount of envy and wonder at the sheer age and weight of history in Europe.  But I also value the newer, rawer history I can find here.  And I love even more that I know my family has a piece of it.

Day 4 of 30 Thankful Days

Day 4: I'm grateful for access to an abundance of healthy food, to the point where I have to exercise self control not to overindulge.

In detail:

Particularly at this time, when Tropical Storm Sandy has taken a big bite out of the East Coast and we're once again reminded (as is so often the case during any natural disaster) of the trials and challenges others around the world are facing, I am grateful to live somewhere with access to safe, nutritious food on a regular basis.  And I'm rather ashamed that I so often not only take this abundance for granted but, in fact, reject the healthy offerings available to me in favor of less healthy and even unhealthy options.

Really, how blessed should I feel that rather than struggling for food and took keep from starving, I'm struggling to diet and keep my weight in a healthy range?  

I hope that I can keep this sense of gratitude going forward and allow it to influence my choices.

I think it's also inspiring me to donate to and volunteer to support efforts to make sure nutritious foods are available to everyone:

Heifer International
http://www.heifer.org/

Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
http://www.foodbankccs.org/

Alameda County Community Food Bank
http://www.accfb.org/

30 Thankful Days?

I noticed on November 1st that several of my dear Facebook friends are posting something they are grateful for each day in November.

I decided that gratitude is never a bad thing and so I've officially jumped on the bandwagon.

For day one, I posted my gratitude for my new job.

In detail:

I'm grateful to have a continued employment, particularly with Siemens (which will allow me to seamless transfer not only my benefits, 401k, and PTO, but also my laptop, blackberry, and Siemens corporate specific knowledge).

I tend to be something of a perfectionist and I hate, hate, HATE, trying things for the first time or the beginning part of learning new things when I feel completely incompetent.  So, it's at least somewhat helpful when starting this new job that I'm still in the Siemens family and can transfer some of my knowledge and skills while I try to wrap my brain around a whole mess of new information.  Um, I'm going to be working for Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Molecular and Microbiology...I barely remember hints about this stuff from some of my GEs in college...

But I digress.  I'm somewhat amazed at this opportunity and very amazed that the transition is going as smoothly as it is.  Once again I have to say, I have no idea where the Lord is leading me, but I'm happy to be along for the ride.

For day two, I posted my gratitude for my old job and the people I've worked with.









In detail:

I learned more during my (almost) 7 years at OCS than I could have imagined.  I've worked with a wide variety of diverse and fantastic characters, traveled more than I ever expected, and became a much stronger, outgoing, and capable person than I would have thought possible.  For the first time I have confidence in starting a new phase of life that even if I don't already know everything (rest assured, I know how illogical my thinking has always been about learning new things), I do have the ability to learn and succeed and I don't need to be a basket case of fears.

But I think the greatest blessing from these past few years has been the opportunity to work closely with my father and get to know him on a whole new level.  It has been a wonderful experience that I will always be very grateful for.

Day three, I am posting my gratitude for my home.

In detail:

I feel very blessed to live in what is quite possibly the nicest, and definitely the newest place I've ever (and may ever) lived.  I've been at the condo on DeMarcus for 4 years now (the longest I've lived anywhere other than my parents house) and in that time I've been blessed with wonderful roommates and very few household problems.

I feel safe and have all the conveniences I could need.  With the new job, I'm particularly grateful for the location of my home at the crossroads of 580 and 680 which gives me a lot more flexibility in my commute.  Of course I have some pet peeves about this place (noisy children in the courtyard, oddly shaped rooms, etc.) but on the whole, it's really more than I would have expected or planned to have and I am frequently grateful for it.

Brief Travels Abroad

In my work I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel quite a bit, mostly in Germany. I've been there a total of 16 weeks over 8 different trips. I've been able to visit quite a bit of the country in my travels.

Some of my favorites:

-Munich

-Berlin

-Heidelberg

-Frankfurt Temple and Christmas Market

-Neuschwanstein (the castle Walt Disney modeled the Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland after)

-Bayreuth (during the festival celebrating the operas of Richard Wagner)

In general I have really enjoyed my trips to Germany (sometimes despite work!).

Recently I again had the chance to travel to Germany. Unfortunately this trip was super short (I flew in on Wednesday night and flew out Monday morning) and not very fun (lots of work politics, multiple flight cancellations, and a very interesting bus trip). But...I did get the chance to visit the Freiberg Temple, which means I have now been to all the temples in Germany (there are only 2). And I spent some time on Sunday walking around the historic downtown of Erlangen.

The temple was beautiful. I arrived there quite early for the session and took some time to walk around outside and take pictures. It looked beautiful enrobed in clean white snow and there was a wonderful quiet stillness about the temple.

I love that the House of the Lord is His house no matter where on Earth you are and his spirit is always there.

I spent most of Sunday relaxing in my hotel room. But in the afternoon I decided to venture out to the historic downtown area of Erlangen (about a 10 minute walk from my hotel). I got some great shots of Schloss Erlangen (including the spot where books were burned in 1933), the fountain facing the "schloss" and some other general historic sights.

All in all, not my best trip, but I'm still grateful for the opportunities I have and have had through my work. Sometimes I can't believe some of the things I've been able to do that I would never have dreamed would be part of my everyday life.

Thoughts on 2011

As 2011 came to a close and 2012 began I took a few minutes to pause and think about the year that has passed and what I might want to do in the year to come.

I make it a point not to make New Year's Resolutions. They never work for me and I feel like they're basically a recipe for failure. I have had some success making Birthday Resolutions, but I neglected to make any this year. So perhaps instead I'll focus on some of the things I did in 2011 and some of the things I'd like to accomplish in 2012.

Here goes...

2011 - my personal year in review (including some items which I've elaborated on in this blog...)

Jan – My first cruise...to the Caribbean with an amazing and hilarious bunch of friends (Katy, Emily, Aaron, Jon)

Feb – Fabulous trip to Disneyland with Carly, Jessica, and Lisa (my now roommate!)

March – Impromptu day trip to the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco

April – The wedding of two of my favorite people: Jamie and Jason AND a long awaited work trip to Heidelberg - beautiful weather, fun companions, and I finally got to meet in person some colleagues I've been working with for several years

May – Had a fantastic time at the Mid-Singles Conference in Huntington Beach with Natalie, Melissa and Hillary (plus a bonus day at Disneyland!)

June –Everyone's gotta take a month off now and then right?

July – Made the tour of SF with Katy and one of her friends and took an awesome day trip to Sonoma/Napa with Allison including free tasting tours (olive oil, cheese, and chocolate)

August – The aforementioned Lisa moved in as our fantastic new roommate and Justin and I threw a Settlers of Catan Extravaganza

September – Amazing Labor Day weekend trip to San Diego with Amanda and Delphine

October – Trick-or-Treating at Disneyland with Katy, Jeff, and Daniel

November – Awesome birthday trip to Bodega Bay with Mom and developing my sewing skills with my very talented friends.

December – Christmastime at Disneyland with the roommates (Katy and Lisa) and CA Academy of Sciences with Katy and Hillary

Ok, reading over that is a little more like a travel log than anything else. Which actually kind of makes me pretty happy.

So, here are some aspirations for 2012.

Places I'd like to travel this year:

-England (for work and maybe some family history?)

-Washington DC

-Salt Lake City

-Seattle

-Alaskan cruise (I hope!)

-Alcatraz

Things I'd like to do:

-establish and stick to a regular exercise plan

-attend the temple at least twice a month

-visit 2 new temples

-complete Project Management certification

-take some formal training in genealogy and attend at least 1 conference

-purge the storage in my room and get the rest of my stuff out of my parents' house

-continue learning how to sew

-explore new cooking adventures

I'm sure I could go on...and I certainly hope I get to do more travelling that that (at least day trips), but that's probably more than enough "aspirations" for the time being. Maybe I'll check-in in a few months and see how I'm doing.

An Adventure through the Amazon and Beyond...

Over the holidays I was fortunate to have quite a bit of time off (11 days to be exact!). I was really looking forward to some time away from the office.

I didn't have any big plans, just some relaxing holiday activities with the family and chill time at home.

Of course things never quite go according to plan. I did manage to have some great holiday time with family. But unfortunately I spent quite a bit of my vacation fighting off (and finally succumbing to) a cold.

By the last Friday of my vacation I was finally feeling better and ready to get out of the house. In fact I tried to find something fun to do on Thursday, but without success. So by Friday it was definitely time for an adventure!

I rounded up some friends (Katy and Hillary) and we decided to take a quick day trip around the world. On our travels we visited the rainforest of the Amazon, met some reindeer, went sightseeing under the sea in the Philippines and wandered through the wildlife of Africa. In other words, we made a visit to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

I had heard wonderful things about it ever since the renovation a few years ago, and it definitely lived up to all my expectations. In fact my only disappointment with the trip was that I brought the wrong camera battery and didn't get to use my favorite toy very much. Nevertheless, I still managed to get some great photos with my limited battery and the help of my iPhone.

Now...what should my next adventure be?

Craftiness and Super Sewing Saturday

I have always been inclined towards crafty pursuits; however, I'm also a bit of a perfectionist and since it's not generally possible to be perfect at a new undertaking on the first try, I tend to become frustrated or lose interest quickly.

But in my *ahem* advanced *ahem* age, I think I'm getting more comfortable with my fumbling first efforts. Either that or I'm just more comfortable looking like a fool in front of my close friends. I mean, really, who better (and safer) to look like a fool in front of?

Whether it be age, a new-found sense of self-confidence, or purely the inspiration of the wonderful and talented women I'm blessed to associate with, recently I have re-discovered my love of all things domestic and crafty.

Christmas has provided an excellent jumping in point for my new crafty explorations. And our recent "Super Sewing Saturday" was the perfect opportunity to start and finish some projects:

1) My very own apron (I had to take some liberties with the pattern when I got stuck, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

2) Happy little stuffed tree

3) Christmas pillow

I still have a lot to learn about sewing (A LOT), but I'm happy to see progress being made. And I just keep reminding myself, it doesn't have to be perfect!

Thanks girls for supporting and inspiring me!