Read Carefully...

...and take notes.

Tonight I came home angry and upset from work. If I had initially written this entry before calming down it would have read much differently. I'm fortunate though to have calm and humorous friends who also write blog entries that I check periodically (okay so just about everyday). Tonight I was reading Brendan's latest blog entry and it had a very soothing effect on me. I was halfway through Brendan's entry when I realized I was laughing over chamber pots. That's when I knew the world was right again.

What had me so upset earlier was a large table of people that decided not to leave me a monetary tip, instead they found it cute to leave me a written tip.

And I quote, "The best tip we could give you is to read your Book of Mormon, and pray about it concerning the truth. God will give you the answer and eternal salvation if only you accept it."

This short message was written on the back of a credit card receipt. I probably stared at this note for a full minute just burning it into my memory. I've experienced a lot working as a waitress, but never this. Sure, I've had people not leave me tips before. I've even had people walk off without paying their bill. But I've never had someone give me a verbal tip like this.

Now, I have many Latter-Day Saint friends here in Utah. I respect and love each of them, and I know they would never do something of a similar nature, nor do most people in the LDS Church. So, I'm going to try to write this next part without any anger or generalizations to one particular faith. (Cause lets face it ignorant people come from all cultures, religions, races and sexes).

I'm ignorant in a lot of stuff myself, but as far as the restaurant business goes I'm fairly knowledgeable. There are certain things that I'll never do at a restaurant (I'm sharing so you won't find yourself as an ignorant one).

1. I'll always leave a monetary tip (no cards, notes, verbal tips, or gifts in exchange).
2. I'm careful to remember that servers are people too and deserve respect, a please and thank you are nice.
3. I'm always carefully of the time (how much time I occupy a table (remember tables are a servers livelihood - I certainly don't need to sit there for three hours or more - and the time as far as the hours of business).
4. Along with the hours of business I always make sure that I can be finished and out the door of a restaurant before it closes. If I won't be able to sit and finish my meal before their closing time then I won't go out to eat.

The last table I served tonight (the note on a credit card receipt) broke a lot of my rules. They showed up at a quarter till our closing time with a party of 15 people. When I saw them walk through the door I wanted to cry. Here we were (the waitresses, cooks, dishwashers, management) all about 15 minutes from leaving and going home and in walks all these people. Our night went from almost over to another two hours to go.

Of course as you know I waited on the table. For the most part they ignored my presence (which meant I had to ask questions several times just to get their attention). The only time when they realized I was there was when the grandfather figure asked me if I was LDS and when I said I wasn't, almost all of them told me in turn what a blessing I was missing.

Finally, we had their drinks and food served and everyone seemed content. They used a credit card to pay and you know the rest of the story about the note. So, there I am staring at this note at about 11:45 p.m. almost an hour after we had locked our doors. Chili's restaurant had stayed open for them I had stayed working past closing to serve them and they didn't leave me anything (and remember Chili's only pays me $2.13 an hour). So, for the two hours extra work these people put me through I made a total of $4.26 which bussers, bartenders and the government all got a piece of. In the end I probably lost money waiting on this table. I can't say the situation was making me very happy.

Okay, I'm making myself angry again. I have a lot of praying I need to be doing, trying to forgive them their ignorance and poor behavior. Let me just say one more thing, in an effort to look at the positive this group of people taught me one valuable lesson; always be aware of your witness. I'll tell you one thing, I'm not any closer to stepping into an LDS Church or picking up a Book of Mormon from their witness and note.

I said this earlier and I'll say it again, I know some of the greatest Latter-Day Saints, don't judge the lot based on the actions of a few. My story wasn't for the purposes of putting down any faith or religious belief, it was more for the sake of sharing what NOT to do.

Jamaica...

...the long awaited account of my visit to Jamaica (the condensed journal version). I use the word yesterday throughout these entries. Each morning I wrote about the past day, so take whatever date is given and put the previous date to the events and you'll have it right.

April 26th

So today is to be my first full day in Jamaica. Yesterday felt full, as full as a half day in the country could be. Yesterday, we accomplished a nice two hour tour (drive) through-around the country. Then arrived at Maranatha School for the Deaf to meet Monika (Monica - not sure about the spelling) and Michelle.


We started our time at Maranatha with a nice hot sweaty game of volleyball (I was truly out of practice). The game itself was interesting with some of the deaf children there. I learned to work with non-verbal communication. These children are absolutely brilliant when it comes to relating non-verbally.

We spent our evening eating pizza and sweet pineapple, then it was time for even sweeter fellowship.

April 27th

Yesterday was quite an eventful day. It began early at Maranatha and ended up in Kingston. First off wee put in a visit with Michael and Pearl James. This visit became more of an adventure/errand run.

Michael and Pearl rented one of their homes to Willard and Melba Heatwole when they were here (Jamaica) in the 1990's. Brendan has kept in contact with them during his time in Jamaica, and is often referred to as Willard's grandson (not that he seems to mind).

During our adventure with Michael we were able to see Savanah la Mar and visit his Marl Quarry. What visit would be complete without some food - in this case it was patties (my first Jamaican flavor experience) which were pastries with beef filling (very spicy).

After our visit with the James' it was a three hour plus drive in to pick up Paul (Brendan's boss) from the airport at Kingston. The drive from the airport to Brendan's apartment turned out to be quite an adventure. We ended up almost driving through the Kingston open air market. What we did manage to get the through was quite crowded and eventually we had to reverse our way out.

It was here that a Jamaican man came up to our car with an offer. "Hey Jakies you want a skunk?" I was initially thrown off by the offer of a skunk. It was until Brendan explained that Jakie was another name for whitie and skunk was a name for the drug he was offering, that I got pass the visual of being sold an animal with a white strip.

Brendan's apartment offers an incredible view of Kingston. He's really lucky to be living up on the hill overlooking the city, being able to see the bay so well. We enjoyed the view for awhile before heading back into the heart of the city for biblestudy at a Mennonite Church.

This is when I met the female Salters (with MCC) living in Kingston (whom I'm now staying with). There is Katrine, Diana and Leah all of whom have been serving in Jamaica for the last eight months.

At biblestudy we talked of the proverbs, but what really stood out to me was the idea of "promises." What are God's promises, and how should we understand them? (just a question I'm left thinking).

April 28th

Yesterday we (Brendan, Ted, Leah and I) went over to Port Royal. There was a lot of great history there dating back to the 1600's. The fort there was closed but we still managed to see most of it plus a few other sites.

From there we stopped at some war relics from this past century. It was a great view of the coast and not a tourist attraction (I loved it).

Then along the same road we made a visit to the screwfly program center. Its at this place where the sterile flys are hatched and then pilots like Brendan are able to disperse them. I learned a great deal more about Brendan's job and the importance of it.

Next came a short (but windy) drive into the countryside to see some old aqueducts in a field. This was nearby the Holdeman Mission house so we placed a visit. There we met the newly established missionaries Vance and his wife Marrisant (I hope I have the right spelling for her name) and their three children.

From there it was the scenic drive back to Kingston and onward to an evening with Ron and Gussie Good, the MCC leaders for Jamaica.

April 29th

Yesterday was at a nice slow pace for a change. I slept in and took my time getting ready until about mid-morning. Then Sib (Paul's wife) came to pick me up for some shopping, lunch and a lot of visiting.

It was nice spending some time getting to know Sib and hearing about her life. It was also very relaxing time.

After our afternoon of visiting the boys came home from work and talked shop for the next hour or so. Having already heard from Sib earlier about the dynamics of some of the working relationships I had a better insight into what was going on.

After an interesting dinner of rice and ants at Brendan's apartment it was off to Waterloo Mennonite for youth night. This was a disorganized affair that didn't have much meaning for me. It was fun fellowship though.

April 30th

Yesterday was an early start to a long day. We (every Kingston Salter minus Katrine) drove two hours out to Portland. There we disembarked from the vehicle to beat it out on our own two legs. On foot we hiked along the Foxes River to the Rio Grande (Jamaica has its own Rio Grande).

It was a great hike. Wonderful scenery, nice weather (at first) and some spectacular views of waterfalls and caves.

The hike back was fine, but we were dealing with the rain. It was still raining when we arrived back at the car and this was where we had wanted to change into our dry clothes. Changing back an operation of taking turns in the car. Eventually we were all dry and on our way back to Kingston.

On the way back we stopped for some jerk in Buffs Bay and took it to a Salter's home for a meal. Nick was the Salter and we had a nice visit until it was time to continue along home.

Exhausted we climbed into our respective beds and fell right to sleep. Well, actually not before some of us girls walked to Devon House for ice cream and girl talk. My flavor was a delicious pineapple.

May 1st

Yesterday I went to Church at Waterloo Mennonite for their regular Sunday service. Much could be said to describe the experience, yet I could sum it up in three words, "It was different."

After Church Brendan came by to take Diana and I up to Blue Mountain to meet Ben and go hiking. We had a wonderful romp in the woods and then it was back down to Irish Town (where Ben lives and serves as a Salter). We ate dinner there and was able to spend some quality time climbing trees and visiting.

May 2nd

Yesterday was an early start. First meeting Ben and then traveling to the August Town primary school where he volunteers. There I saw what I consider the saddest, most depressing conditions (it just broke my heart).

First off I noticed the structure of the school. It was set up with several grades in one building the only thing separating the levels was chalkboards (the teachers though seem to have learned to teach around the noise level created by so many people in one open building). The noise could be absolutely deafening and made me wonder how these children ever were able to concentrate (again I think the children have adapted to concentrating in loud environments).

Next I was shocked to learn of the lack of reading comprehension in most children. I met a fourth grade (grade four) girl who certainly couldn't pronounce the words. In fact in some cases she couldn't spell the words. She simply wasn't comfortable with the alphabet. For awhile I sat there watching Ben work with her and tears just stung my eyes.

I was remembering all the wonderful chapter books I could read at her age. I use to come home from school and lie on the couch in our company room and just read. It was such a wonderful pleasure for me. New worlds and opportunities opened for me when I read. My heart longs for this little girl to experience the same joy from reading.

Next Brendan and I traveled over to the Jamaicans For Justice center where Diana works. We visited a boy's school with Diana to talk on human rights (Diana did the talking, Brendan and I just listened).

Shortly before visiting the boy's school with Diana, Brendan and I stopped for lunch at a Tastees. It was there that we met Elders Hansen and Redd, two missionaries with the LDS Church.

These missionaries gave me an insight into the LDS Church here in Jamaica. I learned that the LDS Church in Jamaica is quite small in numbers.

Both of these Elders were from Salt Lake City. At first they were pretty friendly towards me, but their attitude changed somewhat when they learned I was not LDS myself.

In the evening Brendan and I included ourselves in a MCC event over at Ron and Gussie Good's home. There we met a former missionary family that had served over a decade before in Jamaica.

After dinner it was back to Brendan's apartment complex to visit with Paul and Sib. Sib had recently bought their Moses Basket that they'll be using as the baby's crib (atleast for the first few months). We talked over some ideas for bedding the basket which will be quite a job.

Awhile later we traveled down to the Salt house where we had a spur of the moment "dance party". In all it was a very late night.

May 3rd

Yesterday was the nice long drive from Kingston up to Montego Bay. Brendan and I definitely took the scenic route and had a lot of fun along the way.

Once in Montego Bay we had some time to kill before Robert and Lois Wenger's plane arrived (they were coming back to Jamaica from a visit home stateside and we were picking them up at the airport).

First off we found a post office to mail a letter to Jewel. Then we went out looking for CUMI (a home for the mentally ill) where Sarah one of the Salters is serving. It was nice meeting Sarah, but it was a rather short visit.

With more time yet it was off to get some lunch and do some shopping. Taking Brendan shopping is quite an experience. I was a little surprised by how comfortable he was with the amount of shopping we did (he never took me as someone who would like spending that much time in stores). At one point I was even laughing on the inside because I deliberately got him to hold my purse for me...hehe (how cliche).

Finally it was time to pick up Robert and Lois and take them to the YWAM center for the night. In the end we all ended up staying at the center meeting Kenny and Stephanie Stoner (grounds leaders).

After a nice dinner at The Native we went back to YWAM center and had a visit with the Stoners. It was great to hear how the Lord's been using this ministry to bless Jamaicans and other nations as well.

May 4th

Yesterday was the day I left Jamaica. But before my plane left I still had the morning to spend with Brendan, Robert and Lois. It was nice spending time with my Christian brothers and sisters.

Then it was off to the airport and on my way back to Utah.

Embarrassing Situation...

So tonight I almost cried at work. Someone decided to publicly embarrass me before a room full of people, and I almost lost it and started crying (that would have been real professional).

As a server I meet all types of people. There are those that make me angry, but after it's all said and done I just end up feeling sorry for them. There are those who are really cool, and I always hope to meet them again one day. And then third type are the non-descript, that don't leave much of any impression, and I'm sure I probably won't remember them the following day (hey I meet a lot of people give me a break my memory isn't all that great).

Tonight I met a older woman who initially made me very angry. Like I said earlier I usually just end up feeling very sorry for these people who upset me so initially. She came with a larger party that I was serving. They called ahead for seats and the hosts held my table open for them for a little over an hour (which is absolutely ridiculous when we're so busy on a Friday night). They were just late showing up, but when they arrived they had a table right away. They had excellent service, because I made sure their drinks were never empty and they received exactly what they had ordered in a timely manner.

I was able to give them this quality service because I asked help from my fellow employees to deliver drinks or serve the food. That's right I was very busy with an overload of tables that I had been sat in a short order. I couldn't do everything that needed to be done by myself so I asked for help from others that weren't so busy. In the restaurant business acting as a team and helping one another is pretty standard, it's the best way to give great service.

When this large party had finished their meal I took payment on their check the older woman came up to be in the middle of the room and with a loud and raised voice proceeded to admonish me. About seven other large tables make up this room and a good number of people turned to listen to her as she loudly called me an incompetent server.

Her main complaint wasn't about the service, she admitted that the service was fine, but that I wasn't handling the service on my own. She felt that it was a sign of poor service skills on my part not to be able to handle all their requests on my own.

It wasn't what she said, but the volume in which she said it that was so embarrassing. I wanted to run away and hide with all those eyes on me and the stinging words. It was hard for me because I felt that I had tried my best to give them a good experience and now I was feeling belittled.

I apologized to her and to the rest of the party and explained that at Chili's we try our best to work as a team. I told her I understood what she was saying and I appreciated her straightforwardness (okay so that last part was a lie - but I was under pressure at the time and it just came out that way).

As soon as the party had left I went about my work as if nothing had happened. I wanted desperately to cry. I don't know if you know this about servers, but it's hard sometimes to get everyone what they want and in a timely manner. Stuff happens that you can't control and makes it hard to get everything right. It's nice though when everything does go as it should (like it had for this party) and when that happens sometimes what's even better than a tip is just a thank you from a table. Someone who acknowledges the work you did and appreciates it. That leaves a server feeling good inside, and makes the job more than just about the money.

I feel really blessed though, after the woman had left, several people in the room who had witnessed her tirade came forward and told me the opposite of what she had shared. They wanted me to know that they didn't believe her and what she had said was uncalled for. They acknowledged my good service and said I seemed like a friendly person with a nice smile.

After listening to all these people (each blessed me in a different way) I ended up feeling very sorry for this woman who ranted against me. No one in that room who heard what she had to say believed her. No one in that room thought ill of me or my work. Each person who witnessed her tirade thought less of her in the end. The only person in that room who was really embarrassed in the end was that woman who was trying to bring me down. I feel sorry for her. I seriously can't imagine spending my life being so critical and hard on others around me. I would never want my life to be about that, it would be so miserable.

I guess you could say that woman taught me a life lesson tonight. She made me even more determined to see the positive in people and situations. I mean, the more I look for the positive the more positive everything will be. And that would be a great life, a positive life.

So, in an effort to look for the positive I want to share with each of you the positive that I saw in this woman. She had her grandchildren with her tonight and you see how loving she was with each of them. Not only did her love come through with her grandchildren it was exhibited for her children as well. As an act of love and service she took care of the small grandchildren making sure their food was cut up properly or that they had what they needed to drink. This act of service on her part allowed her own children to relax and enjoy their meals without worrying about the kids. This woman was a truly awesome grandmother!!

Multi-tasking...

There are times when I consider myself the Queen of Multi-tasking. And I say that as if it's something to be proud of. Well is it something to be proud of, or should I be changing my ways?

The other night I was in the middle of a psuedo online biblestudy (it was just me and one other person - it was more like a discussion), I was crocheting a new afghan, and in the middle of all this I was talking to my friend Emily on the phone. And to me none of this was unusual behavior.

There are times when I feel that if I'm not doing two or three things at once I'm not being productive or efficent with my time. It's always in hindsight that I realize how overworked or exhausted I've made myself feel.

Like this evening when I was reading through a book, while I continued to work on crocheting an afghan, and making chocolate chip cookies on the side. As soon as I had the cookies finished and it was just the reading and crocheting I was working on I became very tired. I thought to myself I'll just lay my head down for a five or ten minute nap and then it's back to work (I had this lofty goal of finishing 9 afghan squares tonight - each taking 40 minutes to make).

Three hours after laying my head down to rest my eyes I awake to my phone ringing. Hmmm...I must have been more tired than I realized. Could it be the pace I've been working myself at that is making me feel this way.

Seriously, sometimes I wish I could just allow myself to handle one thing at a time (all the time - well most of the time). Maybe I should start by not multi-tasking my crocheting. You know they say crocheting and knitting is supposed to be relaxing. Ha! What do they know. I have a new afghan more than half way completed and I've only been at it for less than a week. See, how much you can get done when you multi-task.

Okay, so maybe I'm undecided on my earlier question if multi-tasking is a skill to be proud of or something I should change my ways about. Maybe I should get some feedback from all of you, my family and friends. What do you all think? Am I taking my multi-tasking overboard or is it a good thing to get so much accomplished in such a short amount of time?

Pictures Galore...

A while back my Mom sent me a cd of pictures from the early years that she had scanned onto her computer for preservation. It's fun, I like looking through the pictures every now and then, and remembering stuff from my childhood. Not only did my Mom put a good number of pictures of myself on there, she included quite a few of my younger sister and brother.

I thought I'd take some time to share a few of my favorite pictures with all of you. This first photo was choosen because unfortunately I'm wearing this baggy old t-shirt that I got on a visit to Washington D.C. (the t-shirst was about a wanted bear for stolen hugs - something like that). The t-shirt was a favorite of mine for some time, and now I'm glad that I couldn't find the thing even if I wanted too. What also makes this picture so tragic is the pink purse I have slung over my shoulder. Again this purse was a favorite of mine during this time. I think I was under the impression at that age that purses were cool (I've learned a thing or two since that time).


Come on, you know why I choose this picture, its just so darn cute. You have to admit it, I was an adorable baby : ) You can tell from this photo that I'm still the funny loving, smile on my face girl that I am now (yeah...sure).

This photo is in honor of Father's Day. Aren't we just the cutest pair? I think so!!






















So it was about time that I posted a photo of my younger sister, Lora. I thought while I was at it, I might as well post the picture of Lora and Lora. Yep, that baby and the older woman holding her both have the same name Lora Heatwole.

My parents thought that they might as well name my younger sister after my great aunt Lora Heatwole. At the time of my sister's birth great aunt Lora was 80 years old. My parents didn't think that the two women would have to share the name for that much longer (I mean great aunt Lora was 80). My sister is 22 years old now and great aunt Lora is 102 and still kicking. So much for my parent's belief that the name sharing would be only a temporary thing. Oh well, it doesn't bother either of these ladies to share a name, actually I think they are rather proud of it. Hopefully my sister will take after her namesake and live to a ripe old age as well.

I don't want to leave my younger brother Brent out of this picture frenzy. Here's that cute little blonde baby boy for ya, all wearing his Daddy's shoes. So adorable, ain't he? We still tease my sister about this, when my brother was born (and she was three at the time) she said upon seeing him, "We's baby is sooo cute."

Well, that's all the pictures for now. I hope you've enjoyed this stroll down memory lane with me.

An Update...

So, my little "mood" has past and I didn't even have to resort to the ice cream.

Now that I have posted the update on this ridiculous mood I keep mentioning, I'll move along to other news. I'll tell you all about last night at work (of course this is at Chili's). The strangest thing happened (and I've waited tables for four years now so I know this is out there), I was was given a $60 tip from one table. Okay, if this had been a large party of 30 or more that wouldn't be so out of the ordinary (well if they ordered plenty), but this was for a party of 5 people. Their bill came to a little over $100.

They paid for their meal with a credit card and then the guy paying slipped me some folded bills and thanked me for the great service. I thanked him and then walked away. In the back of my mind as I walked to the computer to finish closing out the check I was hoping for a $20 tip which would be 20%. When I got to the computer to take payment I pulled the bills out of my apron and unfolded them. First was one $20 bill, and then another $20 bill and then one more $20 bill. I couldn't believe, in fact I didn't it, I was sure it was a mistake.

I immediately went back to the table where the party was still sitting and quietly spoke with the man who had tipped me. I said, "Sir, I think there has been some mistake, your bills must have stuck together and you didn't realize that was three $20 bills you handed me." He just smiled up at me and said, "No, sweetheart that wasn't a mistake. You were very nice and sweet to us. You actually remind me of a granddaughter I lost years ago, and so I wanted to give you something extra nice. "

With that he just patted my hand and told me to have a nice night and I replied the same to him. Like I said earlier it was one of those strange incidences, that normally don't take place in the restaurant business. You know though I left feeling really good about what happened, and it wasn't about the extra money in my pocket (that's not important at the end of the day). At the end of the day what felt good was being able to give someone their granddaughter back, if for only just a little while.

Thanks for the Advice...

So, I'll be breaking my stale mood with prayer and ice cream!! : )

In a Mood...

...what that mood is exactly I'm not sure. Whatever name you want to put on my mood it isn't a positive one. And the thing is I like being positive. So, this mood pretty much sucks and I can't seem to shake it.

Ever been in these shoes before? Well, I'm taking suggestions, any mood breakers?

The Tomboy....

...turned Sunday best. I find this picture somewhat amusing. Most of the younger pictures of me are mismatched clothing. Hair that is chopped somewhat funny (because I got ahold of some scissors and decided I was a hairdresser). And then of course there are the pictures of me in funny places or covered with dirt.

I was somewhat of a tomboy back then. There was the occasional picture my Mother would take when she had me or my sister all dressed up for Church or some extended family event. In those cases she would have us in our nice Sunday dresses, she would even taken the time to do our hair, making sure everything was in place. This picture is an example of one of those nice looking moments.

Lesson Learned...

...some lessons need repeating a time or two (or quite a few) before they sink in and begin to take hold. Sometimes, even after the lesson has been learned we fall back into our old ways of thinking or doing.

Today I was reminded of a lesson I've tried hard over the years to grasp, but it still creeps back on me every once in awhile. It's about faith, and learning to place my worries in God's capable hands.

The story begins with me rushing to my car this morning, knowing that with time the way it was I would be arriving at just the right time for Church Service. I was thinking about the praise and worship team and how I was involved in the Church service as a vocalists. Before we begin each service the worship team meets in the pastor's study for a time of prayer and at the rate I was going I would be just in time for the prayer.

Get to my car. Turn the key, and NOTHING. Well, not exactly nothing, the radio came alive and my car tried to turn over but it just couldn't get up the gumption to do so. First thought, "Oh no, what am I going to do I have to be on time for Church I'm singing this morning."

Okay, now is not the time to panic I have to think rationally. Well, Church is within walking distance, but by the time I cover that ground on foot I'm sure to be late. Then again I could always call someone at the Church who might have a free moment to swing by and pick me up. Of course, Tommy would be a great person to call.

Called Tommy and he said that he'd be there in a few minutes. Several minutes later I'm still sitting there and worrying about how bad it was going to look for me to walk in late. So, in order to stop my internal worrying I call Emily Huffman so I can worry over the phone with her (but at that time I called it venting). In the back of my mind I keep envisioning how I've probably already missed the prayer and that by the time I arrived at Church the praise team would have already begun. Would I want to embarrass myself by walking up to the front, picking up a microphone and just pick up wherever they were, or should I just forget about singing today and leave them with the singers they had.

All this worrying and I still hadn't left my apartment parking lot.

Tommy finally makes his appearance and I'm in a real panic about time. We get to the Church with no problem. I rush through the greets, just quickly saying hello and see you later (I'll admit that was rude), and then I make the most amazing discovery. It seems the praise and worship team was running a little late themselves today and they hadn't even had there prayer yet. I had arrived just in time.

So now I was free of my first worry, whether I'd meet my obligations with the praise and worship team, I was then able to move onto the next worry concerning the state of my car. I'm ashamed to admit this, but as I stood before the Church helping lead them in worship my thoughts were more centered on my car. The questions were, "what was wrong with it" "how was I going to get it to the mechanics to have it fixed" "when would I have time to have it fixed" "how much was this going to cost me" "how was I going to get to work tomorrow without a car"?

All very worthy questions I guess, but much to weighing on me. Here again I'll be brutally honest, I'm at Church and leading worship, standing before the congregation in secret worry and I still haven't prayed over my situation. It's sad but true, I was holding onto the weight of my situation and not letting go even for God.

What's so marvelous about God is that He knows that we sometimes forget these lessons He keeps trying to teach us, and He's still ever so patient with us. This Sunday our scripture verse of study was Matthew 6: 25-34:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

These words spoken by Jesus, spoke yet again for me today. God's word was very much alive and applicable for me in my present. I heard with my ears the words from Matthew 6 spoken aloud, but my heart spoke a different message:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about the car you drive, whether it runs or won't even start. Is not life more important than a vehicle.

The message brought me around very quickly. I sat there in silent prayer offering all my worries from the morning over to God, knowing that He is than any mechanical failure. I sat in Church and REALLY listening with an open heart to what God wanted me to hear that day. I was free from my burden and able to move forward.

After the service several in the congregation thought it would be nice to go out for lunch. Well normally I like to attend these gatherings because it's just plain good fellowship. Today though I knew I didn't have a ride. So, I let it be known that I would like to go, but my car wasn't working and I would have to bum a ride to the restaurant and then back home. This wasn't a probably for anyone and eventually through the process of elimination I ended up in the vehicle of Jim and Becky Sandborn and their two boys.

We had such a pleasant time together and I probably enjoyed the afternoon more just for having that extra time riding around with the Sandborns and their lively sons (Mitchell 8 and Nicholas 6). When we arrived back at my apartment Jim asked if I would like him to check out my car while he was there. He said that in the very least he could attach the jumper cables and see if it might just be the battery.

First off they asked me to try and start the car again. It wasn't looking like an easy fix, the car lights came on, the radio turned on, but the car wouldn't start (and was now even making a loud clicking noise). We still attached the jumper cables just on the off chance it was a simple battery issue, but we didn't have a lot of hope (I was already thinking of the call I would need to make in the morning to a tower - which seemed ridiculous to me since my mechanic was a quarter of the mile up the road from me).

Jumper cables attached, I turned the ignition and wonder of wonders the car actually started right up. My next blessing came with Jim's offer to follow me down the road to a Pepboys that was still open to buy a new battery, which he could replace himself and I wouldn't have to pay the service fee.

Insert funny story here, at the Pepboys we tested my old battery to see how much juice it actually had. The man at the store said, well it'll take about 15-20 minutes to get a reading, unless the battery is really low then it'll take only about a minute or two. Twenty seconds later the reading was done and we knew that my battery was beyond low it was completely shot.

In the process of changing the battery we noticed that my rear tail lights were no longer working on the left side of my car. Again Jim knew more than I did on this subject, and I learned that instead of going to the mechanic and being charged $12 for changing a light I could easily do it for a little under $6 (the cost of the light itself).

At the end of the day my car runs, and is better off (working rear lights) than it was yesterday. It's not surprising to me that things have a way of working out on their own when we leave them in God's capable hands. He always sends us the help we need, we need only to ask.

Family Portrait...

I can tell you right now why I have that onery look on my face. And yes, I am the little girl in the picture. The look was produced because my parents were setting me up. The made sure I got that particular hairstyle (and they kept me in that style for years) and then they memoralized that unfortunate haircut with a family portrait.

Like I said, my parents were setting me up. Now whenever I look back on pictures of my childhood (which should be the sweetest years of your life*), I'm left with a bitter taste in my mouth, for the years I was forced to wear the heavy bang haircut. Poor unfortunate me, and that is why I'm wearing the "onery" face in this here family portrait.

*and of course my childhood was the sweetest years of my life...love you Dad and Mom!!!

An Update Just to Make An Update...

Okay, I should most definitely refrain from leaving voice posts ever again. At the time I think they're brilliant. During the moment I think that I'm leaving everyone more information that I can possibly take the time to type by hand, and you're getting it in story form with my own voice.

The only problem with voice posts is that when I'm leaving the message I feel as if I'm not talking to anyone in particular and I come off sounding...well ditzy. I listened to the post today and I couldn't believe the number of times I said "and" "whatever" or "um". I was simply horrified at myself.

I want to think that in normal conversation, one on one conversation that is, I don't use those words that often. Again, I want to think that in those conversations I'm a little directed and I come off sounding somewhat intelligent.

I'm thinking that from now on all posts should be in written or picture form. No more of these rambling voice posts that make me sound like some young teenage girl. "Like...um...and he totally dissed me and I was like whatever."

NEVER AGAIN!!!

Velvet Elvis...

These days I'm reading through a book called "Velvet Elvis," by Rob Bell. Since cracking the cover on this book I've been moved by deep thoughts, and great emotions; the two components of a wonderful book.

I wanted to take some time and journal some of the thoughts Rob Bell has expressed (the ideas that jumped out at me). Of course my taking the time to condense some of the book for you should be no excuse for not going out and finding a copy for yourself to read. I'll tell you, Rob Bell is far better able to express his ideas through written word then I'll ever be.

First off let's examine the idea of a trampoline and a brick. The trampoline is fun and inviting, I mean who wouldn't want to get on a trampoline and jump around (it's freeing). The brick wall is hard and it's only purpose is to keep people in or out (depending on which side you find yourself on).

Rob Bell takes the illustration of the trampoline and brick wall one step further. The trampoline has these wonderful devices called springs that give depth to our jumps. Bell says that the springs can be a wonderful metaphor for our christian doctrines. To Bell the springs aren't God, or even Jesus, they just are the doctrines that give depth to our experience of God.

Now a brick wall is made of brick...duh!!! Now using a metaphor of the brick wall each brick could be a doctrine. Each brick could represent a doctrine that we use to experience God with. Now here's the problem with the brick wall, you can hardly take out any doctrine or re-examine a doctrine without the wall crumbling down. If that wall is your faith (and it seems so solid) just remember that it's hard and uninviting and most of all it's not very flexible.

The trampoline on the otherhand is designed for flexibility. The springs stretch and move with ease. If ever a question were to arise over a certain spring "doctrine", that spring could be removed and examined without the function of the trampoline being hurt (you can still jump on a trampoline with a spring removed).

Like I said Rob Bell says it better. I encourage everyone to pick up a copy of this book and challenge yourself and your ideas about faith.

The question I'm asking myself today is, "Is my Church composed of doctrinal bricks? Is it hard and unyielding? Does it say to people you can't be on the "in" unless you fall inline with each hard doctrine? Or is my Church a trampoline? Are my doctrines flexible enough that others can jump without knowing all the answers?"

I should say, Rob Bell places great emphasis on questions. He writes that the mystery of God is one that evokes our questions. We are more able to experience God when we question, even when we question God (in reverence).

There is a quote from the back cover of "Velvet Elvis" that I like:

We have to test everything.
I thank God for anybody who is pointing people to the mysteries of God.
But those people would all tell you to think long and hard about what
they are saying and doing and creating.
Test it. Probe it.
Do that to this book.
Don't swallow it uncritically. Think about it. Wrestle with it.
Just because I'm a Christian and I'm trying to articulate a Christian worldview
doesn't mean I've got it nailed. I'm contributing to the discussion.
God has spoken, and the rest is commentary, right?

Water Heaters...

The following entry is only a personal theory and should seriously be taken with a grain of salt, okay, maybe salt of the equivalent in the Great Salt Lake.

My theory is that if you must begin your day with a cold shower the day will only proceed downhill from there. Nothing good follows a cold shower. Cold showers are a form of 19th century torture that could be considered under the following of "cruel and unusual punishment".

Last week I experienced a series of misfortunate events (to borrow a phrase). Each day's events followed a short and unpleasant cold shower. The cold shower was a direct result of my water heater malfunctioning.

Since Saturday my water heater is in proper working order, and I'm happy to be again basking in a warm shower each morning. With the return of the warm shower my unfortunate events have evaporated and I'm now back to normal day status.

Without any of the gory details of last weeks events you'll have to take my word on the cold shower theory. Then again if you've ever had the misfortunate to experience your own cold shower I'm sure you could sympathize with the idea that starting your day with a cold shower doesn't bode well for the rest of the day.

So, I wish you all the best and may warm showers greet you each morning.

Happy Anniversary...

Happy anniversary to me!! It was one year ago today that I wrote my very first blog. Why don't you back and read it : )

What about ME...

This afternoon my Aunt Barbie emailed me two pictures of my young cousin Maddie. The email was entitled something like..."this is happiness." I wanted to share with you all both pictures and then point out a little problem I'm having.

Okay this first photo is pretty cute. I mean Maddie's doing well she's got herself a man with a truck (all you girls out there feel free to say "awwww" at this time).

I'm looking at this photo a little closer, and I think to myself, I need to be pulling Maddie aside and talking to her about the facts of life. The fact is Maddie has allowed herself to be taken in by a man who drives around in a Chevy. A Chevy!!! I want to know what's next, you find her pulled over on the side of the road making out in a Chevy...NEVER!!!

On My Day Off...

Luck for me, both my roommate (Emily) and myself had Tuesday off from work. And what a beautiful day it was too, much too nice to stay indoors. We opted for a walk in the park and an afternoon drive up into Little Cottonwood Canyon here in good ol' Utah.

The park was Wheeler Historic Farm, which meant we got to see farm animals. I always like visiting there it reminds me a good deal of home. It's also a convient place to visit since it's only a half mile from where I live.

On this particular day I brought my camera with me and managed some nice photos of the antique farm equipment that they showcase at Wheeler.

Of course this picture is just a small sampling of the pictures I have available of the antique machines. It just so happens that I'm now on a dial-up connection, and it's much to long of a download to be showing you more pictures. SORRY.








As I mentioned earlier, after the park Emily and I went up into Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was absolutely gorgeous up there. There's the rough rock, pine trees, snow (we still have some snow), and wonderful views. It's all too much to describe in words, I guess I'll have to be patient and show you another picture (here goes the long download process).

Okay, after what seems like an eternity later I have this picture up of a hidden waterfall that Emily and I found near Moss' Ledge. It was a short little walk and an absolutely spectacular view of rushing water.

Oh, and to your left is that snow I was telling you all about earlier. See thar's snow on them there peaks : ) Of course it was also in the upper 80's on this particular day and I had my shoulders pretty well burned to a crisp (lack of insight and sunscreen on my part), but there is snow.

Burgers and Fries...

....we're not saving lives!!

That pretty much sums up my job at Chili's. Well atleast one would think that's what my job is all about. It should consist of me taking someone's order and then serving them up their food...simple as that.

It's just not so. It's all our American Culture of absolute customer service. As a society we've breed a distinct group of persons that take the idea of customer service to an extreme. It's these persons that irrate me to no end these days.

They tend to be overly critical and demanding in what they deem as good customer service. And here I am trying to make a living by living up to their expectations. Let me tell you it's exhausting.

Personally, I feel that my customer service skills are well tuned and the average person enjoys my service. The fact of the matter is that a good number of people going out to eat these days aren't the average person, they're the critical and demanding type I mentioned earlier. They have this inate belief that if I haven't given them five star service then their dining experience was less than enjoyable.

Let me just say once and for all, to all of you out there that have ever been frustrated over the fact that you've had less than desirable service (compared to your standards), it's burgers and fries we're not saving lives...Chill Out!

Love...

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca- age 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - ae 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." Bobby - age 7 (Wow!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "My mommy loves me more than anybody . You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt." Chris - age 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - "When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image) Karen - age 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Another Late Night Vigil...

So here I am again writing to you from the early hours of the morning (or wee late hours of the night if you need to think of it in that context). It's now exactly 1:00 a.m. and I'm still wide awake.

This late night schedule is mostly due to my working hours. For example, last night I wasn't home from work until after midnight, and then it still took me atleast two hours to wind down before I could actually sleep. And even though I took time to distance myself from my working hours before trying sleep I still had Chili's dreams.

Those are the dreams that haunt me from the worst of what happens at Chili's. I hate those dreams, they're the ones where customers are upset over food orders, or I'm being sat too many tables at once and can't keep up, or there is something else going on that is totally out of my control. These dreams always keep me from having a good night's sleep. Not very pleasant at all.

Another reason I'm still up at this hour is because I choose to be : ) Tomorrow (actually today because of the hour) I'm taking an overnight flight into Jamaica to visit friends. The way I figure the situation is that if I can stay up late tonight I'll be more inclined to take a nap this afternoon and be more alert and rested during my flight and layover. The only problem with this solution is the following day when my body is saying I should be sleeping and I actually need to be on the go. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there (how's that for a motto?) : )

Well, I should be off I still need to pack for my trip and knowing me I'm going to need to take my time (double checking everything for I'm always bound to forget something).

Up Later Than Usual...

I don't know if that heading is really true or not (it's 12:25 a.m.). I do have a tendency of being more of a night owl. Maybe tonight it just feels as if I'm up later than usual because I'm actually pretty tired.

You'd think with my burning eyes and on coming fatigue I would just choose to fall right off to sleep. Think again. For some reason it's in this state I'm most productive. I wanted to get some writing done tonight, and it's when my brain is beginning to shut down that I'm actually getting around to that writing.

I blame this tendency on all those years spent in College. I formed a rather nasty habit of waiting to the last minute to finish my work (okay...my last entry did hint that this habit of procrastination was more a part of my nature than something I formed over time). For me waiting to the last minute was working on that final draft (sometimes it was the rough draft) in the wee early hours of the morning on the project's due date.

Even now as I'm post college I seem to do my best writing late into the night. For some reason my eyes have to feel that burn as they stare into the computer screen, and my mind has to swim in a sea of haziness. It is during this time that the words pour forth onto the screen with little effort. In these late night hours I'm not one to second guess my writing, and sit and scrutinize every sentence.

The late night hour allows my true voice to come across paper. If you want to really know what I think or feel keep me up late at night, and then give me pen and paper or a computer and you'll have your answers. Just beware the spelling and grammer might not be so hot. : )

Ode to a Procrastinator...

Sheesh...let me just say that I got it all taken care of with several hours to spare. The "all" I'm speaking of was my taxes. Yes, I know I waited to the last day and almost the last hour to finish them, but alas I am a procrastinator.

You'd be proud to know though that I actually began the process back in January. Then I never finished and papers laid on my desk for several months. It occured to me this past weekend that I could save myself the effort of handwritting the rest of the forms and save postage by e-filing. It was really a simple process and took me less than two hours to complete. I highly recommend that method for anyone in the future.

Now, I'm relaxing at my desk listening to a new cd called, "Celtic Woman." The song at present is "Danny Boy," ah...how beautiful. I enjoy peaceful music like this...puts me in a great frame of mind.

Well...that's the end of this day. Now it's off to bed to get the rest I need for the new day.

Home Sweet Home...

Very early this past Thursday I arrived in Virginia for a visit home. By very early I'm talking plenty early. I took a red eye flight into town and got to Baltimore Airport at around 5 a.m. Of course I capped off that long flight with an equally long and tiring drive home (about three hours). Bless my parents though for they did the driving home and let me sleep in the back seat. It's been a great visit so far, and I've realized recently that I'm enjoying something now that I haven't really done much of in Utah (of course I plan on remedying that situation on my return). What I've done a lot of so far is just visiting with friends and family. Often times that means giving a little advance call or just showing up unexpectedly on their front doorstep. Visiting with people in their homes or places of work and taking a little time out of my day to meet them on their home turf is actually quite great. So often in Utah I'm known for calling people up and meeting them somewhere else or they do the same with me. That's great and all, but usually we end up in crowded restaurants or very public places that are noisy. What a pleasure it is to stand out doors or sit in a quiet living room and have a relaxing and fun conversation. Well I really should be cutting short my thoughts here and getting myself off in bed. I have one more full day in Virginia and I need to be well rested to make the most of it.

A Song of Praise...

Last night was worship team practice for Church. We got together and learned this amazing new song. I wanted to take a moment to share the song with each of you and maybe it'll touch your heart like it did mine last night.

http://www.audiostreet.net/artist.aspx?artistid=30295&mode=music&recordid=67159

Here of Late...

Here of late, I've been thinking plenty of home, and by home I mean life back in Virginia. I guess I'm beginning to realize that "home" will always probably mean Virginia to me. Here I've been in Utah for almost a year now, and life is comfortable and good, but home is still Virginia.

Why, you might ask am I thinking about home? Well, partially because I'll be leaving for a visit to Virginia in about two weeks, then there is the fact I've been in Utah so long, and now my family is considering selling the one home I lived in most of my life. I know, so many thoughts that swirl around in my little head.

First off is the visit home. Yeah, I guess that really got me going on my home thinking. It'll be the first time I've seen my parents or siblings in almost a year (well except for my brother who I did see at Thanksgiving). Then of course is a whole bunch of other family and friends I haven't seen in just as long and I can't wait to see them either. It's funny but when I think of my visit home it isn't the places I'll be seeing again but the people (well except for El Charo's!!!) I guess all that say "home" is about love ones not location.

I'm definitely glad it's not about location, because as I mentioned earlier my parents are considering selling the family farm and the home of my childhood. This isn't really all that bad, but I am glad I'll be going home again just to spend some time in the ol' place. I can't begin to share all the special memories that house has for me and my family. But then again when you still have your family you don't need a house to remember special times.

Strangest of all my thoughts here of late is that Utah is good for me. Sure there have been tough times here, when I missed family and friends or longed for my established life back in Virginia, but for the most part that isn't so. For the most part I have a happy and established life here in Utah. Being here (exactly where God wants me) gives me a sense of purpose and fulfillment that makes life a joy.

All of this leads me to another thought. Okay, so Utah might not be the "home" of my family and friends, but it's become a "home" of my heart.

And this is Jenn signing off from here late night ramblings. Hope you enjoyed and until next time...God's Blessings on you all!!

What a Week...

What a week I just had. I believe in this past week I went through just about every crisis a person can name (okay maybe not every crisis...but you get the point). Here's a few from my list with some stories to go with:

• Emotional
• Car
• Financial
• Physical

Well, I know you don't want to hear about all my little crisis', so here's the car and the physical to tide you over.

I've known that something was wrong with my car for some time, but every time I took it to the shop the mechanic said it was fine. Of course my car was on it's best behavior for the mechanic, but when it came to just me in the car it made funny noises and behaved very badly.

Eventually I found a mechanic who was inclined to agree with me and say that yes it did make funny noises and something was definitely wrong. In fact it was the water pump that needed to be replaced desperately for the sake of my coolant levels (I had leaking coolant - which I've learned is NOT good). Okay, so all of this meant that I had my car in the shop and out of comission for two days.

My physical crisis relates to a bump on my head that I recieved. While at work on Thursday night I crashed my head into the corner counter and blacked out. I ended up at the ER getting a C.T. scan, because nobody wanted to take any chances with my huge ol' goose egg and my dizzy spells. All in all, what should have been a short shift at work waiting tables turned into a long visit to the hospital. Then of course the next day was followed by a pounding headache, but I guess that is to be expected.

So there, you have my week of crisis in a nutshell.

Hot Tea...

Hot tea in the morning. Hot tea in the evening. That's me a one to two cup addiction each day. I've got such a collection of hot teas now that I can have a cup to reflect almost any mood that I might have.

Tonight I'm relaxing to a cup of hot jasmine. Hmmm...what mood does that reflect? I believe I drink this brand when I need to relax after I've had an especially hard day.

It wasn't that today was terrible, for some reason I felt down about it. No worries though, after a few calls home and my cup of jasmine I'm doing much better.

So, what's the point of this entry? I guess it's just to let you know the comfort and joy you can find in hot teas. Go out and get ya some!!!

When Maija Says JUMP...

I JUMP!!! You better believe it :-)

So I was reminded today by a dear friend, that it was time I got online and posted an update on my blog. It's interesting, because from what I've been hearing there are actually persons out there that enjoying reading these ramblings of mine. Well all I have to say is kudos to you if you get something from all of this.

Today went by so quickly. I was on the go from work at Chili's to music practice at Church. And most of the time I had my new roommate Emily along enjoying the ride and acquainting herself to the new "Utah Culture". Well to suffice it to say, we accomplished much ground today in Emily's first day in Utah.

Soon enough I'll have more stories (meaning more interesting than the ones at present) to share with you all concerning Emily in Utah and I'm sure to have some photos to go along with the words. Until then.............

From a Virginian to Virginians...

http://www.blogthings.com/virginia.html

Accident Prone...

So if I believed in horoscopes I'm sure mine for the week would have been the "doom and gloom" prediction of keep to your bed and pull the covers up tight. This is all NOT to say that the week has been dreadfully awful, it's more the point of the accidents that keep coming my way.

First off, yesterday at Chili's I was preparing a cup of Broccoli and Cheese soup to serve to one of my guests, when some spilled over the edge of the cup and preceded to scald my left hand. OUCH!! I spent as much time as I could spare in the busyness of the lunch rush to place my hand under running cold water. In the end I mostly toughed it out and went about my business in a mood that was somewhat less happy than before.

If that wasn't enough for the day I went home to bang up my right knee. Seeing as there is a story behind this accident I should give you curious folks the details. I was at home enjoying dinner, chatting friends, and the viewing of a rather strong hail storm. My plan for later evening was to swing by the Church for music practice and as my luck would have it the storm ended before I had to be on my way.

That is where my luck ran out. Well, either my luck or my intelligence, and I would like to think it was the former rather than the latter. In order to arrive at my vehicle I must first descend a flight of concrete stairs outside of my apartment building. Without even thinking as the condition of these stairs after a hail storm (remember hail is equivalent to ice) I proceeded down the stairs with very little caution. Next thing I knew my right foot slipped back on the ice and momentum was pulling me head first down the stairs.

Fortunately, though my luck and intelligence were at an end, quick reflexes were not. I grabbed hold of the side railing and prevented myself from a serious head injury. Though as you can probably guess my knee wasn't saved from a similar fate. The right knee caught the edge of the stair in acute pain. I limped my way back into the apartment and discovered that the concrete edge had created a nice gash in the skin from which blood was issuing. Of course I only like blood when it stays in it's proper place (you know working diligently to carry oxygen through my INTERNAL system). Something about blood of the external part of my body doesn't quite thrill me.

I began by stopping the bleeding with pressure and bandaids. Then it was on to help the swelling. At this point I made my way to the freezer to see what I had on hand that would do in a pinch. AHH!!! A nice large bag of frozen hash browns, perfect. It was truly perfect for the occasion. The hash browns in the bag were cold and formed nicely over my knee. I recommend having some on hand in your home, just in case your luck or intelligence ever desert you.

Now if you think that is all, then you are quite mistaken. Today I went back to work at Chili's (you know a little knee injury can't get me down - not with advil at the ready). I was helping another server by taking a hot skillet meal out to their table.

When I work with the skillets I'm usually careful not to become distracted so that I might not hurt myself. Unfortunately this table could have cared less that I had a sizzling skillet in my hand. As I was trying to balance the hot skillet a guy at this table was trying to shove dirty dishes into my other hand asking me to get them out of his way (first off I have to say HOW RUDE).

Next thing I know the dishes the guy couldn't wait another second (that's all that would have taken me to place the hot skillet down and pick up the dirty dishes with both hands) started to tilt in my hand. I tried to spread my hand out to balance them before they fell and my other hand with the skillet moved at the same time with the motion. That's when I experienced the major pain of my thumb being seared by the skillet. Of course I'm at the table with guests so I try to hide the injury by gritting my teeth and practically dropping the skillet into the guy's lap (don't worry it made the table). Then it was both hands to the dirty dishes and me walking away in pain (and of course I'm not perfect so I was thinking a few nasty thoughts about rude and impatient people).

So there you have it, my accident prone past few days. Here's the rest of the week may it be filled with accident free hours.

Joel Says...

ugh! dail up=dumbdail up is like grandma and a trucker teaming up to block both lanes for no apparent reason... no, there is a reason: a sick pleasure in making joel go crazy.

Welcome to Dial-Up...

Okay, so maybe I've downgraded, but atleast I've gone honest. It's probably best that I explain that sentence more thoroughly. As it happens since moving this past October I've been using wireless internet as my connection. At first, being the technological illiterate that I am, I figured that if you bought the wireless card (as I had) than any connections you found out there (space and time or whatever) were free.

WRONG. I soon learned that wireless connections are never free, some are just unprotected. For me this meant that continuing to siphon internet connections this way was paramount to stealing. Having read the 10 Commandments once or twice...or just several dozen times, I realized that stealing was probably bad.

Now I had to make some decisions, like what was the best internet for me, and what fit in my budget best? Since internet is not a high priority for me I figured I could live on dial-up (relatively the most inexpensive). Dial-up also had another advantage that of having to have a land line phone connection.

Being that I'm now out in Utah it was advantageous to have a local number for all those persons tired of calling me long distance on my cell phone. So, now I have a local number and legal internet service...aren't you all proud of me?

1...2...3...TESTING

Just checking in...catch you all later.

Driving to Provo...

Much earlier this evening I took some time off to visit a dear friend of mine down in Provo. The plan was to dine out at Zupa's and enjoy some fondu (we like fondu). In the end we deviated from the plan somewhat, we ate at Zupa's, but enjoyed sandwhiches instead. I must admit the sandwhich was well worth giving up the fondu for and that is saying a lot.

The drive down to Provo (south of Salt Lake) was so beautiful and just another reminder to me that living in Utah ain't all bad. I left Salt Lake around 4:20 and already I was starting to see somewhat of a sunset because of low cloud cover on the mountains. At one point as I was crossing the mountain coming out of the valley when the sun broke through the clouds in the most amazing way. Not only was it reflecting beautiful bright yellows, but it held pinks, purples and blues.

Every time I see a sunset off of the mountains I'm reminded of the awesome nature of God. To me sunrises and sunsets are perfect, and not only reflect beautiful colors, but more importantly a beautiful God.

Lately the sunrises and sunsets have given me a blessed peace in my life here in Utah. Not to say that the skies aren't beautiful back home in Virginia, but in some ways that just don't hold up to the majesty of the skies here in the west.

Oh all this is foolish sentimental talk, but it's still true, atleast to me. Hope you enjoyed reading about it, for whatever it is worth to you : )

On the Ball...

Hey, so I mentioned yesterday that I would be adding Family Christmas photos to my photosite soon. Well....I did it.

GO and check 'em out...
www.jheatwole.photosite.com

Come One...Come All...

...and check out my newly updated photosite. I've kept up the pictures from Africa to be enjoyed a little while longer, but other than that it's all new pictures.

Soon enough I hope to have some Christmas family photos posted as well, but I'll be sure to let you know when that happens.

So, come check out all the fun at www.jheatwole.photosite.com

I Should Be in Bed...

...but I'm not. Truly, I can't fathom why I am still up. I'm sure it has something to do with the good book I picked up earlier in the evening and couldn't put down until it was finished. Another valid reason would be that I'm fairly use to these late hours, having been working them here of late.

Working as a server is so fairly unpredictable. Some days, like today, I must be at work to see the placed set up and opened for the guests. And then there are other days, like last night, when I have to stay fairly late to make sure the place is cleaned at set to rights for the next day.

The worst is days like yesterday (Friday) when I was there to see everything set up and opened, and then I was still there at the end of the day to see everything cleaned for the next. What makes the situation even more tiring is the fact that a few short hours of sleep later I was back at work making sure everything was set up and ready for today's guests. Needless to say I'm a very tired young lady and I'm thankful for my evening off tonight.

Though obviously I'm not using this time off very wisely (i.e. sleeping). I've spent it in studying and pleasure reading. Also for those of you who know me very well I had to spend some of the time cleaning my apartment (it's not really work it's relaxing - you'll never change my opinion otherwise).

So why have I been working the long hours recently you ask. Let's just say if you play you pay. And I had a wonderful time playing earlier this week. Two of my friends from back home in Virginia came out for a short visit.

During the time they were here time was spent exploring around Utah a little bit. I do mean exploring!! These guys (brothers) seem to love maps and going off on the little lines you find on them. You know the lines I speak of, the ones that are smaller than the rest and usually head out in directions away from cities or towns.

Oh what neat places those little lines take you. I had so much fun getting out of the city, and spending the time with two persons who enjoyed the random adventures as much as myself (probably even more so) made the experiences very memorable.

Well, I haven't much else to share, but I figured you all would enjoy some photos in parting. SO ENJOY!!!


We made a stop through Provo Canyon to take some scenic pictures. This one shows a clear shot of my friend Kyle. My friend Kyle is a good guy, but he is a little misguided when it comes to farm equipment. He seems to think green and yellow makes good colors on machinery. Personally, I'm more taken with red and blue, which I'm sure you all will agree are far superior.


Now this is Brendan, who happens to be standing on a snow covered road. We had taken one of those little lines (on the map) I had mentioned earlier. This little line lead us out to who knows where, I certainly don't know where, but then again I didn't have the map. We sort of just followed the road until it came to and end...well sort of. It was a very scenic spot and it certainly had a good bit more snow around than the city. I just loved the fresh air, clean snow, and mountains in the background.




I'm throwing this final photo in because it's fun and I like it. One of my favorite moments of my friend's visit was when we went to Maija's home in Provo. We had originally traveled down to Provo to take a tour of the indoor climbing wall Maija works at, but the randomness of the visit lead to a lesson in weaving. Maija is quite talented in weaving and showed us the working of her loom and samples of linens she has made in the past. I love how we went to learn or be shown one thing, and ended up be taught something completely different...Maija was so sweet to go along with our randomness.

Well, I guess that's enough to satisfy everyone's curiosity (haha...with no pictures of me). Blessings!!

My...My...My...

....it's been awhile. So, I'll admit to being some what negligent with the updates here of late. The truth is I haven't much to share, nor have I been pondering any great thoughts.

My life has begun to revolve around work here of late. That hasn't really been such a terrible thing. The more time I spend at Chili's the more I feel at peace, that God specifically put me there.

That has everything to do with the people I meet that I wait on and the people I work with. Here are two specific examples though they might not mean as much to everyone that they do me.

This past Monday I had a wonderful evening at work and met some really nice people. One table happened to be a group of five young adults, some from Australia and the others born and bred Americans. They were so nice and I enjoyed waiting on them. At the end of the evening I noticed one of them was wearing a fish necklace and I commented on how cool it was. They asked if I was a Christian too and before I knew we were exchanging the names of Churches we attended. I hope to be spending more time with them in the future and I thank God for that special meeting He brought together.

Another neat acquitance I've made while at work is with Bobby one of the Chili's bus boys. It just so happens that Bobby is originally from Staunton, Virginia and moved to Utah awhile back. I thought originally that he moved for the skiing and snowboarding he talks a lot about, but I've since learned that the move was prompted by his decision to join the LDS Church.

Bobby and I have had quite a number of great conversations about life back home. I call him R.E. Lee (since that's where he went to high school) and he calls me T.A. (well because that's where I went to high school). I know that God brought Bobby and I together and I'm looking forward to furthering our friendship.

Well, that's life at Chili's (atleast the good parts). Stay tuned for the next installment of my life is all work.

God's Providence...

That's right this entry is going to touch on God's providence. How is God looking out for me? This might be a silly example but it's very fresh in my mind.

Tonight while I was at work someone walked out on their bill. This happens more times than you'd like to see in the restuarant business. What these miscreants usually don't understand is that the servers are accountable for the bill and it comes out of our hard earned money.

As I mentioned earlier some young guy (probably 19 or 20) and his girlfriend walked out on their bill tonight leaving just $4 on a $14.80 bill. The people who leave a few dollars are the ones who think they are being sooooo smart. Leave a little money so it looks like they've paid up, and then the server doesn't think too much about it until they've already raced out the door.

Where does God's providence come into this you might ask. For starters I was only taken for $10.80, it could have been a much larger sum out of my pocket. Secondly, this guy wasn't so smart, he left in his seat a receipt from Blockbuster video with his name on it.

Blockbuster was kind enough to work with us on getting his phone number, but unfortunately that was a disconnected number. The disconnected number was a surprise to both Blockbuster and us, seeing as the fact that he just signed up membership to Blockbuster that very evening.

I was the first one to try the number and realize it was disconnected. This really didn't discourage me though, I still had his name and at any moment I could pick up the phone and call the police. I know that there are plenty of view points out there as to what you think I should have done in the situation...I mean somebody stole from me and I had his name.

I didn't call the police, but I did visit Blockbuster after work (it was right across the street). I felt a certain responsibility to inform them that he had given a disconnected number. I also knew from talking with the table that they weren't happy with another video store because of interest they had accrued due to late fews.

The ladies at Blockbuster were so nice to me (again God's providence). They were thankful over the phone number issue and made a note in their computers that they needed a correct number. They also volunteered making another note on my behalf stating, "Jenn from Chili's says Hi, she would also appreciate it if you could pay the remainder of your bill $10.80. A tip would also be nice, Marcus!"

I might never see that money and that's okay (I mean it's only money). But it does make me smile to think that every time this young guy goes to rent a video he's going to be reminded of my little message. This to someone who thought they were being smart and cool, getting away without paying their bill.

This whole episode tonight has made me stop and think of all the years I've waited tables and they people who've walked without paying. God's providence has been with me, for it really hasn't happened all that much to me (though I've seen it happen to others plenty). Only one other time sticks out clearly in my mind. It was a married couple and they ordered so much between the two of them. I left the check at their table and then had to check in the back for another tables order. By the time I was back they were gone and leaving me with a $80.00+ bill.

At the time I wanted to cry. I hadn't even made that much money that night. I was going to be stuck giving over all my earning from the shift and then some. It was then that I noticed the nice leather jacket the man left behind. I mean it was top quality, worth far more than $80.00. Well, again with God's providence, here I had lost out on $80.00 cash, but I had a jacket I could sell on eBay for a hundred or more.

I took the jacket and the bill back to the manager explaining the situation and my plans (we had a good laugh about stupid criminals). About two hours later though the same man walks through the door looking for his jacket in the booth. He had the nerve to come up to me asking if I had seen his jacket (I will admit he did so with some nervousness).

At the time I smiled and took pity on the man. I explained how we keep all lost and found in the back office and I would have a manager look for it. I then went back and explained the situation to the manager he came out with the jacket and the bill. I don't know what was said but in the end the man left with his jacket and the manager had the bill paid. God's PROVIDENCE!!!

Whatcha Got There?

Recently I was reading in one of my friend's blogs (YEAH Maija). She went into an account of the contents of her purse. This reminded me of a time when I was younger and was told that you could learn a lot about a person from examining their wallets.

Well avid readers you're about to learn some interesting stuff about me, here's the list of what is in my wallet at this time:

Car insurance card.
Health insurance card.
Utah state tax commission - sales card.
Utah Lighthouse Ministry business card.
Bank account numbers for VA account (probably could take that out at this time).
Preferred Savings card to the Albertsons Grocery Store.
The City Library Card.
The Salt Lake County Library Card.
Blockbuster membership card.
KOHL's card.
VA state driver's license.
A handwritten discription of me composed by the Weaver's (my Church back in Virginia) Young Adult group - I even still reconize the handwritting of the person who was asked to write the list (thanks Kyle Yoder).
Check book.
Bank cards.
Credit card.
AND change, but NO paper currency.

I don't know what all that says about me, but I'll leave it up to you all for the assumptions.

A Favor for Brendan...

That's right Brendan...here's that favor you requested, I'm posting an entry. You'd think I could let a week go by without posting an entry, but NO, some people have insatiable curiosities and have to know what's going on in my life at all times. Either that reason, or they're just bored and need some reading material : )

I had been thinking since last evening that I should post another entry. It just so happens that something interesting happened last evening and is entry worthy (atleast in my opinion).

My young adult group from Church got together for a Christmas dinner last night. It was a fairly simple evening. We visited, ate, discussed the study book we're working through, and finally played some fun get to know you games. The reason for the get to know you games is that our group is newly formed and though most people have known each other for years (and in some cases are related) there are the few of us that are new to the Church and the people in it.

For me the evening really didn't get started until we played our last game. That's when I was finally able to relax and really open up with everyone. The game was simple, we were each given a piece of paper with about 12 questions on it to answer. Once we had written our responses we turned the paper in to the designated leader (with no name attached to the sheet) and then he shuffled up the papers. A paper was picked the responses read aloud and then everyone tried to guess who it was who had written that about themselves.

The questions were plenty of fun and really started to give each of us a good idea as to who the people in the group really were (meaning their personalities). I learned things about my new friends that I never would have guessed at before.

The two most favorite questions on the sheet seemed to be, "What's your most embarrassing moment?" and "What is the craziest thing you ever done?"

For me the answers were one in the same. It was the time I went skinny dipping (with some of my female friends mind you) at the Highland Retreat camp pool. What was so embarrassing about this crazy act is (you guessed it) we were caught.

Of course everyone in the young adult group wouldn't settle for my short written answer they had to hear the whole story. Needless to say there was plenty of laughter over the story.

By the end of the evening several of the group members seemed more relaxed around me than they've ever been. A couple of them couldn't stop mentioning how they never would have guessed that about me. That kept saying how quiet and reserved I always seemed and they never would have thought me capable of something as outgoing as skinny dipping.

Hmmmm...these comments really got me thinking. For starters....PULEEZE....ME quiet and reserved....I think not. What kind of impression am I giving people here, but I've certainly never seen myself as a quiet and reserved kind of person.

Secondly....I think the whole Mennonite stereotyping is coming into play here. Most people out here don't have much experience with Mennonite communities. There is a certain mental image that comes to mind when someone mentions the word Mennonite and I've been telling people how I belong to that community. I'm afraid that even those people in my young adult group think I'm some conservative little mennonite farm girl and how they have to be on their best behavior around me or I'll be offend.

I guess I'll just have to work one shaking them from that image of me ; ) This could be fun!!!

Shots of Dr. Pepper...

For those of you who might be some what out of my social loop (more or less how I spread the news concerning my life events) I'm now back at Chili's. You'd think that three years there had been enough, but not so.

Truth be told I sought out this position so that I might have a better work schedule. Now I have more weekday and morning hours free. In fact most of my shifts are evening ones, so usually I don't have to be at work until 4:00 or 5:00 pm.

The downside in this whole equation is that I'm still occupied in the morning hours with research and writing. This means I'm still up at a decent hour and greeting the day. Lately though rising hasn't been the problem it's how I've been greeting the new day that gets me. I've been rather a grump. Why you ask? Well I work evenings and this usually means I'm not home until 11:30 or midnight, sometimes even later.

One would think I could go straight to bed (especially seeing as I'm usually dead on my feet), again not so. I'm sure servers the world over will tell you how a certain amount of time is required after each shift in order to wind down.

When you spend your working hours running around filling this order or refilling another you can't automatically shut yourself down and fall into bed...it's quite impossible. It usually takes me a good 1.5 to 2 hours to quiet myself enough to finally fall asleep.

That's usually around 1 or 2 am and then I find my alarm sounding off at 8 am the next morning. This is not at all pleasant for me since I am and always have been a 8 to 9 hour sleep kind of girl. Sure I can handle one or two nights of sleep than perfect sleep, but as those nights begin to add up I start to become one BIG grump.

Okay so there is no simple solution to this predicament. I guess my body will eventually adjust to a few less hours of sleep a night. When I was in college it adjusted (though back then I spent most of my holiday time sleeping).

I will be doing one thing in the next couple of weeks and that is knocking off the Dr. Pepper shots. It just so happens that at Chili's servers are required to use cone cups if they are thirsty (about the serving size of a shot). I tend to be quite taken with the Dr. Pepper since it's the one thing that gives me the added energy and pep for my shift. I think though if I cut out the Dr. Pepper maybe (just maybe) I could decrease the wind down time I need at the end of my shift. Who Knows!!!