General Conference

Yoga pants. Hot chocolate. Fleece blanket. Loose side braid.

I love General Conference Sunday. A lot.

Week in Review

Like so many others before me, I find myself with the age-old problem of what I'm going to do with my blog now that I've joined Facebook.  (Which is a decision I'm blaming on my book club.)  For the time being, I plan to keep my blog going, primarily because I like to write.  I hope I don't get lazy.  But I guess we'll see.

Speaking of lazy, earlier this week I walked the few blocks to the candy store where my family was meeting for ice cream... and called it exercise.  Because it was a walk.  And I firmly believe that both walking and ice cream are good for the soul. 

It was my first week as an employee for the LDS Church.  I love that I can walk out of my office building to this view.  The flowers, the temple... the shopping.  Downtown is a really great place to be.  I'm liking it so far. 

I've also learned that church employees use a ridiculous amount of acronyms.  (RAOA)  There is a special section on their intranet called The Acronym Finder for people who can't make sense of the alphabet soup.  I say we just USE REAL WORDS.  But honestly, that's my biggest complaint so far.  I love that people are nice when they call in on the phone.  That is unheard of for insurance and I don't think I've talked to anyone nice on the phone at work for the past 10 years.  It's been a little bit of a culture shock for me.  (LBOACSFM)  But I'm adjusting.

Just One More Week

I'm sure no matter how many weeks I had off, I would still want just one more week. But this week I was able to go to the zoo on a Friday afternoon, have a lunch picnic with Carly and Lauren, explore the new library in Farmington that I have been meaning to walk through since it opened, road trip with my sister, pick up Tyler from school and teach him that Oreos are the best after school snack, play house with Bryce at the park, read "Happy Easter Little Critter" to Tanner 159 times, bake orange rolls, have breakfast with one of my bestest friends and dinner with another in Boise, and spend the whole day shopping with my sister in between.

Who wouldn't want just one more week?

To The Next Person Who Does My Job

Welcome friend!  I have been thinking about the day 10+ years ago when I walked into a mauve closet/office with a typewriter in it.  A typewriter. 

You will find that insurance is a conservative business.  Change here can be slow.  But it can - and will - happen.  Your skills as an English major/person who can write/web designer/proposal guru are so needed.  You will feel like an impostor your first 6 months because you don't "speak insurance."  You'll learn.  Ask lots of questions, get to know the wonderful people here, pick your battles and don't back down when you are right.  Which you often will be.

Please, please PLEASE don't let the secret out that I am not really magic; that anyone who can write a little bit and knows how to use that thing I like to call "the internet" can do what I have done.  You will do some things so much better than I have!  I know that.  But remember that I started out with a typewriter and a dictaphone (I am not even kidding) and you at least are inheriting an ok website and years worth of letters and proposals that have satisfied a particularly demanding audience.  So be kind to me and let people continue to think that I walk on water.  They will think the same of you when you can "fix" the documents they just can't get to single space.

Take good care of your American Insurance family and they will take good care of you.  Most days.

Traci

Memory Grove

Yesterday I took the advice of a friend and went for a walk through Memory Grove Park.  How have I worked downtown for 10 years and not known this wonderful spot existed?



Girl After My Own Heart

Lauren turned 3 on Monday!  She was so interested in the new Fancy Nancy books that Tricia and I gave her that she didn't even look up at her cake.  I adore her.  (Adore is a fancy word for love, right Lauren?)

The Finer Things Club

This weekend I had my own version of "The Finer Things Club" established by Pam, Toby and Oscar on "The Office."  First, and most importantly, I finished "Angela's Ashes," which has been on my book list since, oh, let's say 1997.  I've been busy.  For the past 15 years...

I made my Grandma's Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies.  Definitely one of the finer things in life.

I reached my summer goal (yay me!!!) of trying the ice cream at Mrs. Cavanaugh's.  I love that that they have this ginormous, totally 80's picture of Mrs. C. still prominently displayed in the store.  Almost as much as I love their mindy mint ice cream.  And I will be going back for caramel pralines and cream in the immediate future.

I saw "The Butler."  Because if Oprah is in a movie about a black man who worked as a butler at the White House from Eisenhowerer through the Reagan administration, you feel compelled to see it.