Time on my Hands

I had a free airline ticket with United and decided to pay Katie and fam a visit before the holidays. United isn't very generous with their free tickets and the times of use are very limited. However, I found a flight that left this afternoon (Tuesday) and flew back Saturday night. Short, I know, but it's a free ticket after all! AND, taking the packages with me prevented me from having to mail things. Score!!!

So I got to the airport this afternoon and was to fly to Denver and connect to Columbus. Unfortunately, the flight to Denver was an hour late which made me unable to make my connection. I stood in line with every other frustrated passenger who was trying to make connections to someplace else and when it was my turn, they told me they could put me on the first plane tomorrow morning and I'd get there at 3:00. On an already short trip, I didn't want to lose that much time so I made the poor girl keep looking. She finally found me another flight on a different airline but it was a red-eye flight. I'm not an all-nighter kind of gal but thought it was worth the tiredness and bags under my eyes to spend a few more hours with Parker, Reid, and Grayden. So...I'm flying out at 11:45 tonight.

The next problem was that I had 7 hours until my new flight left. I started calling people to see if they could come and pick me up from the airport (I didn't have the heart to call my brother who had just dropped me off). I finally found a dear friend who was home and was willing to come. When I got home, I wondered what I was going to do to keep myself awake until I needed to leave again.

Behold, my Christmas tree:

Believe when I tell you it looks fabulous. In fact, it probably is my best tree so far. My little point and shoot camera just doesn't do it justice.

Now I have only 2 more hours until I leave. More details to follow about all of the fun with the Smith boys.

Disappointment

As you know, I've been looking for a job. I expanded my search to Utah given my frequent flights back and forth to Provo over the past 18 months. Recently I sent off a resume for a position at BYU. I felt like it was a little bit of a stretch but decided to send it off anyway. Imagine my surprise when I got a call a few days later from the school wanting to set up an interview. I hopped on a plane 2 days later and with great trepidation, went in to meet my fate. I was surprised how comfortable I was and how well the interview went. I had experience and examples of every aspect of the job. When I walked out the door, I was sure I would get called back for round two. The next day (Saturday, no less!) I was on my way to visit with Michael for a few hours and was going to fly home that evening. I got a call from the office asking if I could come in for a second interview first thing Monday morning. They actually arranged their interview schedule around me. That was a sure sign!!! I rearranged my flight and stayed for the rest of the weekend.

Monday morning, I met with four people who all seemed to be impressed with my skills and experience. When I left, I felt that I had nailed the interview. I was mentally packing my house up and preparing myself for another change and a move to Utah.

I got a call Wednesday after noon from an 801 phone number and my heart was pounding as I answered the phone. I was told that although I was an extremely strong candidate, they had chosen someone else.

To say I am disappointed is an understatement. It seemed like the perfect job (working as a program administrator for the EFY program) and the perfect environment. One of my friends said to me today, "isn't it exciting to know that there is something even better out there waiting for you?"

I hope so.

When Life Hands You Lemons...

MAKE LEMONAID!!!

I think I'm one of the few people in Mesa who doesn't have full size citrus trees growing in their yard. I got gypped!!! After many years of begging citrus from my family members and neighbors, I finally took matters into my own hand and bought a dwarf lemon tree and planted it in a pot. It was slow-go for a while and I wasn't sure the little guy was going to make it. I had to move it around the yard a few times while I found just the right spot for him but look what I've got right out my back door:

Monday Evening Musings

* We're already a week into November.

* I got back late last night from a good weekend in Utah. The weather was crisp, there was snow on the mountains, and Michael was especially responsive. This picture was taken several weeks ago. He isn't always able to show this much expression but it is happening more and more frequently.

* I figured out Pinterest and LOVE it; so many fun ideas, recipes, fashion, home decor', etc.

* When I woke up this morning, it was cool and raining. I decided it was a good day to make bread (which I haven't done for a very long time). I ground some wheat (don't I sound like the Little Red Hen?) and mixed it up. It was coming out of the oven just about dinner time.

* A young mother from my ward at church passed away last week. She left behind a husband and 4 young children. My heart goes out to the family; I can relate to the children as they are about the ages my siblings and I were when our mother died.

* I recently posted my profile on Mormon.org. You can see it here

* I am still jobless. There are positives and negatives to this.

Those are all of my musings this evening.