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!!!