just when you think nothing exciting is going to happen in your day...

i just got a major piece of information regarding my company, which i'm not at liberty to disclose at this point. it should be made public in the next couple of days, but suffice it to say, it is going to mean that there will be a lot of changes for me at work. good or bad remains to be seen. at this point, i'm just reeling from the shock.

new look

it was time that the blog got a facelift. i'm only posting this for those of you using bl that won't otherwise know:)

just your average saturday morning

this morning i woke up to the sun streaking through my window, and the first thing i saw, were the tulips sitting on my nightstand. all was right with the world.

but rather than lazily spend the morning in bed, it was time to get up and get to my lesson planning.

in my research this week, i came upon the text of a video that i wanted to incoporate into my lesson. lara had been able to provide me with the dvd, but i wasn't sure if the church tv had a dvd player. i headed to my bishop's home to pick up the keys to the building and the library.

i carefully traversed the steep steps still covered with ice and snow, and shortly after i arrived at the top, i heard my bishop calling my name from the townhome next door. i had gotten the wrong house, and now i had to get back down the steps that had nearly killed me on the way up. upon his advice, i went down backwards, and it took a fair amount of time to do so safely.

then i mounted his completely cleared steps to receive the keys.

we chatted for a few minutes and i returned to my car. as i did so, i heard and saw a woman yelling a name. i couldn't understand the name and surmised that a dog had gotten away, or some such thing, so i got in my car.

i made it about 100 yards, thinking to myself, that the area that she was coming from looked especially treacherous. i was thinking about how this morning when i went to let the dog out, i nearly killed myself in the backyard--which was basically an ice rink. and i thought about the lake there, and the ice. and awful thoughts about children and animals falling through ice creeped into my mind. it was then that i consciously noted that that there was real fear and real panic in the screams of that woman.

i turned around, parked my car, and cautiously made my way down the icy slope.

i found the screaming woman on the phone with 911, and checking the pulse of an older lady who was unconcious and on the ground.

the unconscious woman had been walking her dog, as had the woman on the phone, which is how she found her. as there was nothing i could do for the injured at the moment, i was able to relieve the woman trying to hang on to the dogs, while on the phone and checking on the fallen woman, by wrangling the two dogs and taking them to their appropriate homes. by the time i returned, the woman had regained consciousness. my bishop, his wife, and another neighbor were on the scene, and emergency personnel were not far behind.

the firemen and emt's had an equally difficult time maneuvering on the ice, but were able to make their way to the woman, stabilize her, and transport her out.

so, like i said, just your average saturday morning. or not.

holy (insert expletive here)!

just a few moments ago, i received a message from our mail guy telling me to come pick up my flowers. i told him to stop playing cruel jokes (as he likes to do this), but he finally convinced me that he wasn't.

i still expected a joke of some sort, so when i arrived to pick up said 'flowers' i was genuinely shocked to actually see a box of, well, flowers.

i hurried to my office to open them, and discovered the most beautiful bunch of tulips. with them came a note, which was left unsigned.

now, dear sender, i know you are reading this, because having read a semi-recent blog post is the only way you would know that tulips are my favorite flower. and as a sidenote, i applaud your ability to google search (i'm guessing here) in order to locate my office address.

please, please, please reveal yourself to me!

if you choose keep your identity a secret, which i hope is not the case, this will go down in the 'annals of tara' as one of the greatest anonymous gestures ever received. but that also means that you leave me with no good way to express my gratitude.

if you leave me no choice however, let me say simply...thank you. thank you for not only 'listening', but also for acting. what an incredibly wonderful surprise--you have no idea the size of the smile you put on my face.

i will post a pic when i get home and get them in the vase!

***update***

here are pics and two additional notes...









1. the flowers were scheduled to arrive on valentine's day per the shipping label. they obviously arrived late, that doesn't mean that they are any less appreciated! (not to mention that i was snowed in on v-day anyway)

2. yes, i actually called the florist to see if i could wrangle a name out of them. i couldn't. i hope that comes off as amusing and endearing rather than like a girl looking a gift horse in the mouth

feelin' good. lovin' life.

life is good. in fact, life is great.

it's not that any one single thing has happened to make me feel this way, but there are a lot of changes lately, and i thrive on change.

some of these changes are ones i am making, some are just happening. of the former, i, for no discernible reason have been motivated to focus more on my health. i have cut back to one soda per day and stopped eating dinner after 7pm--both of which are monumental challenges for me. beyond that, i am back in the gym on a daily basis, and it feels great. for whatever reason, this time around, gym time is not so much of a chore as it is release and relaxation. and the added benefit to feeling better and losing weight, is that my insomnia has been abated.

in regards to the latter, i find that i am actually getting excited about my teaching responsibilities. don't get me wrong, the actual teaching part is still alarming, but when i consider that between gospel doctrine and stake enrichment, i will be teaching every week for the next month, i find myself eager to learn and to grow. i am looking forward to the preparation-which is a BIG change.

in addition, i am enjoying my job again. i realized that i would enjoy it more consistently if i was doing a larger number of events. i have had two in the past week, and there is nothing like an event day to give me an adrenaline rush. while the bulk of event planning work is done in the preparation, it is on event days that i truly shine. i love the people interaction, i love watching my work come together in a tangible measurable way, and i love the acknowledgement of a job well done.

last week's event was an annual meeting for the top 250 or so in the company. after the event, i was having a conversation with one of our senior vp's (admittedly one of my favorites). we were talking about my job, and he turned to me and got very serious and said, 'you know, all this is a really big deal to renny [the ceo]--the dinners, the meetings, the events. he used to stress about them constantly, but ever since you have been in charge, he couldn't be happier.'

that is why i love event days.

last night's event was much smaller--a dinner for 30--but the gratitude was still abundant nonetheless. with as much money as i spend, it is a powerful thing to overhear the cfo tell someone that 'tara does an amazing job for us.'

in addition to some good work days, i found that passing valentine's day shoveling snow, wasn't such a bad way to celebrate the holiday.

with dad out of town, it was left to my mom and i to do the duties. we spent probably 5 hours or so clearing the driveway while i prayed for a plow to come down our court. the only fear i have (at least, to my current knowledge) is that of being trapped. that fear comes from being snowed in, not being able to get out of a crowded club, or any other number of situations. it doesn't happen often, and it's not related to the size of a space, or the number of people in it..it just boils down to feeling fear when i feel as though i can't 'get out' of where i am. so spending the majority of wednesday shoveling was a very good distraction.

at 5pm that day the plow finally came, and i was gone. but i'll tell you, i didn't once think about how single i was or how crappy valentine's day is!

so far february has been unexpectedly happy, and next month promises to be even better. i am particularly excited about corey and jill's upcoming wedding, and as icing on the cake, the chance to visit my extended family. this utah trip, i will be staying with my cute cousin mel in her recently purchased house, and i am sure it is going to be a blast!

i have no more events until then, so i plan to continue focusing on my other personal improvement goals.

so life is good. i made it through a rough holiday, i like my job, i like (for the most part) my calling. i have a vacation coming. i feel better physically, and i am not stressing (like i usually do) about being alone. all things in good time, and for now, life is good:)

here is a fun video treat from kendyl on our snow day: