My Award from the University

I am not one to brag or self-promote, but I thought I'd share a little good news.
This week I started year 9 at Brigham Young University. On Tuesday at our annual University meetings I was awarded the "Young Scholar Award." As you can see, this award "encourages and acknowledges outstanding promise and contributions by faculty in the early stages of their academic careers." I feel very honored to be the recipient of this award. I am reminded, once again, that "Life is Good." I am so grateful for my abundant blessings-- and acknowledge God's hand in my life.


Below is a page from the program with my name and photo along with the other award winners.



















With the award I received this lovely framed document as well as money for my research account.

My Last Week of Vacation....

This is my last week of vacation. On Monday and Tuesday I enjoyed having my sister and her two kids visit. We had such a great time. Katie started 1st grade this week. After day one she reported that people told her 1st grade was more fun than kindergarten, but it wasn't. She thought kindergarten was much more fun!

Wed-Fri I have spent countless hours in my yard. I have blisters on my hands and every muscle in my body aches. But I have made great progress on the empty spot next to the driveway.

I am reminded that everything takes longer and costs more money than you think it will. I am still shopping for plants to add a little greenery. Here are a few photos:

Pre-removal of ugly fitzer bushes!
After removal of ugly fitzer bushes:

The weed barrier put down:


Mulch and stepping stones. Still shopping for plants (greenery).

Wisdom of One

Last week I wrote about a book called "Wisdom of Crowds." The premise is that collectively we are all smarter than the most intelligent individual. But today I thought I'd write about some wisdom I've gained, individually, over the last couple of weeks.


1- Everyone needs a brother that you can call and ask "how do I do this." My oldest brother knows how to fix and do everything. I recently broke a sprinkler pipe while digging. I had seen my brother fix these before and thought I could do that too. I called him, he told me what to buy at Lowe's and how to do it. After letting it set for 24 hours, I turned on the sprinklers and was pleased to see my repair held! Yeah!!



Second "need a brother" experience-- my 11 year old television is dying. I bought a new one. I need to get cable or dish to get a good picture. My sister pointed out that I wasn't using the antenna on the old TV. Hum... So I called my brother. He told me to go to Radio Shack, buy and adapter and I would be set. Minor problem-- the antenna wire was too short. My brother said I could use an old extension cord. Hum.. I think I have one of those. I reluctantly cut off the end, got out a knife to strip away the white covering (I know you are supposed to have wire strippers, but I don't have any and I have watched my brother use this method before). End result, my TV now has great reception. Now, what do I do with the brand new TV?














2- The Scera Pool is a great place to spend the afternoon. I wish I had discovered this place earlier in the summer. It only costs $5 (a bargain compared to other places). I went there this week with my sister and her two kids. The major accomplishment was Justin going down the water slide by himself. Yeah!!! By the way, Justin finished Chemo last week. Yeah!! Yeah!!!



3- The US Postal System is not reliable in holding your mail while you are away.
I put in a request to have my mail held for a week. They did good Mon-Wed. They delivered mail on Thurs/Fri. They forgot to deliver the accumulated mail on Monday (but did it on Tuesday). This same thing happened to my friends the week before while they are on vacation. Lesson learned: have a neighbor pick up your mail when you are on vacation.



4- $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point = Insanity. My sister, the kids and I went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point-- along with the rest of the county. I thought everyone would be in school. Apparently they only have half days this week and all the mothers decided to take an outing after school. It was craziness. Bajillions of people with no manners. What happened to waiting your turn? Instead parents are telling their kids to push their way through, and say "excuse me" (well some of them say that, most just barge). Lesson learned: pay full price and avoid $2 Tuesdays.



5- The middle seat on the airplane is the worst place to sit. On my flight home from ATL is was stuck in the middle seat. I know, someone has to sit there, just wish is wasn't me. To my right was a lawyer, turned health care consultant who liked to hear himself talk and brag about his family and career. I am all about bragging on family (I do my fair share) but this was over the top. It didn't take long to see that this guy has some insecurities. He and the guy on my left had a nice long conversation (mainly one sided) for quite some time. Fortunately Mr. Lawyer decided he needed to do some work for his early morning meeting. Thank goodness. It was quite until we were landing and he had to put away the computer. Lesson learned: sit in an isle seat where you can get up and move around without annoying people (and leave if your seat mate is annoying you).

I Am So Blessed...

There is a country-western song that includes the lyrics "I am so blessed..." That is exactly how I feel about my life. I have had the best week in Atlanta seeing friends and getting re-connected. I am reminded that my year in ATL was a tremendous blessing both personally and professionally.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, on Monday I saw Stephanie, Nikki and Jennifer.

Tues, Wed, Thurs I saw former colleagues-- too numerous to mention, but including, Galen, Fred, Josh, and Lindsey.

Friday I went to lunch with Bob, Ann, and Betsy-- three of my favorite people.

Friday I also went antique shopping. Good thing I only have a carry-on suitcase, or I would have probably bought more glassware :)

Saturday I saw a former collegue and graduate school friend- Becky and her two kids MariAnne and Patrick. We had a lovely morning at the Marietta town square and ate a tasty lunch at a Sugar Cakes Patiserrie.

Saturday afternoon I stopped to see my friend Patsy. She has a broken foot and wasn't able to get out. She is the lady who helped me find my apartment in ATL. We had a good time visiting.

Tonight I saw four more of my favorite friends, Gayle, Lazette, Peggy, Ruth Ann and Karen. We ate dinner at Sangira, and laughed a lot. They treated me to dinner and Ruth Ann gave me a gift. It was such a lift to the soul.

Tomorrow I will see more friends at church before catching a flight home and back to the "real world."

LIFE IS SO GOOD!

I LOVE Atlanta

I am in Atlanta at a Health Communication, Marketing, and Media conference. I LOVE ATL. There is so much to do and see here-- including great restaurants that Utah County does not have. Monday night I went to dinner with friends and THRIVE restaurt. It was great to see Nikki, Stephanie, and Jennifer. I have plans to see other friends later in the week (also at good restaurants-- you can see where my priorities are and why I have to exercise daily).

What I've learned at this conference so far:
1) Not much has changed at CDC in the year that I've been away.
2) My cell phone is out of date-- and if I want to call or text anyone while I am here I've got to make a trip to the Verizon wireless store and update my phone. Apparently after 6 months your phone is out of date and mine is 2 years old. Hum...
3) There is a lot of wisdom in groups. This morning we listed to the author of Wisdom of Crowds . It was quite fascinating. I think I'll buy the book and read it. The main idea is that all of us are collectivelly more intelligent than the brightest of single individuals. There is a lot to say for diversity in the thought process and points of view when making decisions.
More on ATL later...

Family. It's about...

Family. It's about.... no, not "time" as the commercial says. Though that is important. This week, to me family is about...

1) Homeowner advice. I called or texted my brother at least 50 times in the last week. Anytime I have a problem at my house, I call him. He knows how to fix everything. This week it has been about the sprinkler system and replacing my deck. I feel much more confident calling a business or repair man after talking to my brother. At least I know the language to use, I sound like I know what I am talking about, and I know whether the person on the other end is giving me a good deal.

2) Help. My cousin, Rob, works for a tree company. Yesterday I paid him to come and remove three trees from my backyard. That is six trees in six years that I have removed. Yesterday I was sad, for a moment, to see the apple trees go. But then I thought about all the leaves I won't have to rake in the fall and the sentimentality was gone. The bonus was that my uncle and dad rode down with Rob. It was great to see them. I have been blessed with a wonderful extended family.


3) History. I attended a few sessions of the genealogy and family history conference held on the BYU campus this week. It was really interesting to learn about old handwriting, country customs, and new technologies that can be used for finding your ancestors. One day I'd like to know how and why my 3rd great-grandfather, Anders Pettersson last name was changed to Ros, and the names of my 5th great- grandmother's parents who lived in Sweden. I'm even more encouraged to keep writing my own personal history.