Office Tour - Part 2

And so we continue with the next segment of our office tour. Hold on folks we aren't done yet...

This is Kristen. She is amazing. She is such a tenderhearted and kind person. She makes sure you know that she cares about you by the little things she does. When she is off track we miss her terribly and count down until she returns. It is wonderful having her back this term.

This is Barbara. She is a former Financial Aid Advisor. Now she is the Student Leadership Advisor. She loves to scrapbook and has a fun sense of humor. She has five children, two step children, and a son in law (and a son in law to be in seven days). She has married an incredible man who loves her dearly. Her children consider her not only their mom but their friend.

This is Dee. She didn't want me to take her picture because she thinks she is having a bad hair day. She is such a delight to work with. Very upbeat fun filled lady. She keeps you on your toes. She was previously a Receptionist and is now the Director's personal Assistant. She gets done for us what we need. She and her husband are headed on vacation to Cancun. Lucky girl.

This is Katrina. She is a returned missionary. I tease her about it all the time. She teases me right back. She says the black skirt I have could totally be a sister missionary skirt. I hit her. We laugh. She is dating Taylor. Unfortunately, he is in Logan going to school so it makes for a long distance relationship, but they make it work. One interesting note on Katrina....she has NEVER been on a snipe hunt. I am so not taking her. My last and only experience was such a traumatic one there is no way I am going again. She has a witty sense of humor and this contagious smile that makes you feel like a friend whenever you are around her.

This is Paige. She is the sister in law of one of our former employees.....Jake Fry. We always talk about our nephew, the Mini Coop. We just found out that Rachel (our sister (ok, her sister) is expecting again. Hurray. Paige is from Washington State (Bremerton Area to be exact). She is quiet when you first meet her but don't get her laughing. She can carry on with the best of us.

This is Jared. He is from Texas. When I first met him I really didn't like him. He didn't look at me. Come to find out he is kind of shy at first. Well here we are six months later and he is one of my friends. In fact, he come over on Monday and I cut his hair. His friend Alan came with him and taught me how to blend. Very cool. Being from Texas he is very proper and answers things with "yes, Mam" and "yes, Sir." Wish my son grows up to be as kind and respectful.

This is Spencer. He is one of our full time employees. Being super thin I call him an Ethiopian. He takes it in good humor. He recently broke his nose playing basketball during lunch hour and had to have surgery on his nose too. He even went to the same doctor who did my surgery. He says he is trying to climb the corporate ladder but honestly he is a pretty decent guy.

I will continue (hopefully the final chapter) the office tour next time. This office is has some pretty good people.

Office Tour - Part 1

You get to hear about the people I work with everyday so I thought I would do some introducing.

This is Jessica. I call her Jess. She just got engaged. She is getting married on August 8 in the Boise, Idaho Temple. She got her freaking huge honking ring this past weekend. She is such a doll and she is amazingly fun to be around.

This is BJ. He is a newlywed. He is really a funny guy. Don't let the glasses fool you. He is so not a nerd. He has an amazing personality and always comes up with really funny things to say. He is so happy all the time. His smile and positive attitude are contagious and you can't help but enjoy being around him.

This is Emily. She is my very best friend. She is classy and fashionable and as you can tell by this photo, extremely photogenic. She and I believe that the world should be a perfectly choreographed musical set to our lives and that people should spontaneously break out in to song and dance on cue.

This is Spencer. He has a very dry sense of humor. He says things with a totally straight face and then shakes his head to agree. Funny, funny guy. He is into country music. In fact, he is currently serving on the country music board here on campus. He NEVER dresses like a cowboy so it is kind of a stretch to think of him country dancing.

This is Jacob. Jacob and his wife Cassie are expecting their first child around the end of the year. He is a bit nervous, but really he will do a great job. He is our office comic. He can think of really fun games to play. The other day he challenged other employees to use a word he had given them somewhere in their conversation with either a caller or student who came in. Some of the words he had were: cupid, puzzle and flamingo. What a riot.

This is Tamar. She is a fashion guru like Emily. She has an amazingly beautiful smile and she, like BJ, has such a positive attitude and constant smile, that you are naturally drawn to her. She is so much fun. I keep telling her we so could not have been friends in high school because she is so pretty and fun. She just smiles and says that isn't true. Man I love this girl.

This is Kelly. She is from England. She and her fiance Jason have been dating for four and a half years. She got engaged this past weekend too. She is getting married in August in the Rexburg Idaho Temple. Her family will come from England for the wedding. Her accent is so fun to listen to. She has such an interesting way of speaking that sometimes I like to just sit back and listen to her talk because I enjoy her accent so much.

We have other students and employees but they are not here right now so I will continue the Tour later after I get them too.

A Warrior? YES!!

I am SO excited. Maybe I am a bit childish, but I can hardly wait. Amy, Courtney, Taylor and I are going to see......

Although I am well into my 30s now, I can still remember listening to the "Saturday's Warrior" tape as a kid and listening to it until we absolutely wore it out. Now we are passing this love for the musical on to another generation. I was so happy to find that Deseret Book had released it on DVD and crossed my fingers in hopes they would also release "My Turn On Earth." My lucky day has come. My nieces have made me proud by memorizing all of the words to the musical as well as the musical itself.

So, the Naces and I are off to see the Flinders remade in Logan the 7th of June. Watch out world....next we will be hitting the pavement in search of the live musical "My Turn On Earth."

And yes...I know there are many people in line to mock me. I am unafraid. Go for it. I will be enjoying the musical and wonderful company and dinner with some of my favorite people.

Hanging With My Peeps

Memorial Day Weekend is a time of vacations, going to the cemetary, doing yard work, spring cleaning, relaxing, etc.....unless you came to my house. We spent the weekend doing laundry, cutting trees and hanging out with the littles.

My weekend consisted of hanging out with

and napping and baking with

and working and playing with

and giggling and laughing with

and chasing after two other cousins who came down from Aunt Wylene's to play with Zack.

Tiring....yes. Worth it......definately! Want to do it again.......bring it on baby! These kiddos are so much fun and teach me so much. I do have to say, as a disclaimer, Mom.....I don't know how you ever did six kids, but you crazy woman, you did it and we never heard a word of complaint. Besides, it is like you always said, if I had to give up one of you, which one would it be? Honestly, life would not have been what it was (so much fun) growing up without each and every one of us. Mom, you are amazing.

Happy Birthday Ben

Today would have been my brother Ben's birthday. He has been gone for almost four years now. I remember growing up how much it irritated me that his birthday was one week before mine. It wasn't until I was a little bit older and more mature that I realized that it is pretty cool to have a sibling born so close to your birthday.

In honor of Ben (who would be 30 today) the following are things we should all do at least once in our lives:

1. Stay out all night.

2. Watch the sunrise with someone you love.

3. Sleep in late.

4. Take an extended vacation somewhere you have always wanted to go.

5. Go on a cruise.

6. Walk the beaches in Hawaii.

7. Hold a newborn baby.

8. Eat something delicious without worrying about calories.

9. Tumble down a grassy hill in the summer like a child.

10. Love like you don't care who knows.

Happy birthday little brother. I miss you and dedicate these thoughts to you.

Images of Christ

I see so many pictures of Christ and He is serious and stern. I want to think he is a happy man who I can relate to. A friend of mine sent me a photo of the baptism of Christ and I want to think that really this is how He looked after he was baptized.

I love these photos of Christ with children. I think they truly represent how He and they feel when they are together.

I really love this photo of Christ and His mother. I would hope that one day my children would hold me in as much esteem as this picture depicts Christ holds His mother in.

I feel these photos depict a Christ I can turn to and who knows me personally. That is what I really believe. I don't think He is just waiting for me to fail so He can punish me. I believe He loves and cherishes each of us. How lucky we are for Susan Lemon Swindle who shares her magnificent talent of capturing the essence of a loving Father in Heaven.

Puppy Love

Sydney loves Jackie. I don't mean she likes this dog, she absolutely loves this dog. I don't know what I would do if something happened to her because I just couldn't break my daughter's heart. She adores this dog. She takes her for walks (inside and out), she gives her baths, she has her sleep in her room right next to her bed each night, she carries the dog around, she thinks she is the dog's mother, and she.....

dresses the dog up in her clothes. Jackie constantly sports sweaters, coats and shirts. Sydney has an assortment of blankets for Jackie and absolutely LOVES this dog. Wish we all were loved so much.

Weekend With Dave

Last weekend I had the chance to go to the E Center in Salt Lake City to listen to Dave Ramsey, the financial guru, speak live about the Total Money Makeover. I was first introduced to Dave Ramey's ideas while working at BYU-Idaho in the Financial Aid Office. I went through his 13 week course at work and really enjoyed it. I think a lot of this man and his ideas. So my blog today includes a letter directly from Dave. Read on:

"I have an unusual way of looking at the world. My wife, Sharon, says I’m weird, and truthfully – I am weird. But there’s a reason. Starting from nothing, by the time I was 26 I had a net worth of a little over a million dollars. I was making $250,000 a year – that’s more than $20,000 a month net taxable income. I was really having fun. But 98 percent truth is a lie and that other 2 percent can cause big problems, especially with $4 million in real estate. I had a lot of debt – a lot of short term debt – and I’m the idiot who signed up for the trip.

The short version of the story is that debt caused us over the course of two and a half years of fighting it to lose everything. We didn’t tell anyone what was going on, but if we had to do it again, we would learn from the wisdom of others who have been through it. We soon learned that we were not the only ones at the bottom. Barbie and Ken (you know, the couple who appear to be perfect – perfect clothes, perfect car, perfect house) are broke, and I don’t take financial advice from broke people anymore.

After losing everything, I went on a quest to find out how money really works, how I could get control of it, and how I could have confidence in handling it. I read everything I could get my hands on. I interviewed older rich people, people who made money and kept it. That quest led me to a really, really uncomfortable place – my mirror. I came to realize that my money problems, worries, and shortages largely began and ended with the person in my mirror. I realized also that if I could learn to manage the character I shaved with every morning, I would win with money.


I went back to my first love, real estate, so I could eat and get out of debt. Along the way I began another path – the path of helping others, literally millions of others, take the same quest to the mirror.


I formed our company in 1988 to counsel folks hurting from the results of financial stress. I’ve paid the “stupid tax” (mistakes with dollar signs on the end) so hopefully some of you won’t have to. I wrote the book Financial Peace based on all that Sharon and I had learned and began selling it out of my car. With a friend of mine, I started a local radio call-in show called “The Money Game,” now nationally syndicated as “The Dave Ramsey Show.”


Our company history is full of landmarks leading up to the release of our third best-selling book in 2003 – The Total Money Makeover – and we’re not slowing down. Our company now has more than 200 team members and a variety of products and services to help you reach your financial goals.


Many companies define success based on the dollars coming in, but at our company we define our success by the number of lives changed: listeners getting out of debt, readers taking their first Baby Step and saving $1,000, FPU graduates investing for their future. We learned early on that if we help enough people, the money will come. Our mission statement isn’t just lip service; it’s our mantra:


The Lampo Group, Inc. is providing biblically based, common sense education and empowerment which gives HOPE to everyone from the financially secure to the financially distressed."


He introduced his wife and children while in Salt Lake and I was very impressed with the kindness he showed his family. The respect they have for their parents is apparent. What an example!



There are not a lot of people in this world that I really admire and respect, but he is definitely one of those few. I am really glad I had to experience to see him live. If any of you get the chance to listen to him or see him....TAKE IT!! There is nothing weird or kooky about what he says, it really is all common sense. For example, if you don't have money, don't buy something. Novel concept I know but that is really how easy it is. I highly recommend his books as well. If you get the chance just to listen to him on the radio, do it because that give you an idea as well. And best of all....he is really funny!

Naughty Girl

Last night after eating dinner and a motorcycle ride, the kids wanted to go outside on a "mouse hunt." For those of you not familiar with the mouse hunt it is where the kids go outside and turn over large rocks, wood, sticks, etc. to find mice to "capture" (but mostly to scream hysterically and then chase them down).

The kids had been out on their mouse hunt for about twenty minutes when they came back in the house totally winded and trying to out talk one another. Complete chaos as you try to listen to two children at once. Makes me wonder how my mother ever listened to all six of us at once (you must have developed an ear for it Mom!). Finally after reminding them that when they both talk no one can be understood they elected Zack as the spokesman. While on their mouse hunt they found a beautiful little bright blue Robin's egg. Unfortunately for the Robin, it had a small hole in it so it was damaged. Zack carried that around and was quite proud of himself.

One thing let to another and sure enough jealousy ensued. Zack proceeded to make a "nest" for the egg out of paper towels which he carefully wrapped around the egg. When he was in another room, little miss princess tiptoed into the room where the egg lay wrapped and promptly crushed the egg because, "he wouldn't share the egg with me."

Well little sister, how do you share an egg? Evidently she wanted to hold it and he wasn't letting her so in the true spirit of sibling rivalry, she decided that if she wasn't holding it then neither would he. Naughty little sister. Tears and crying ensued and both children were promptly sent to bed.

Outfit #1

Ok, Lisa and Kim....This is outfit number one. I will wear the other one tomorrow and get my friend Emily to capture that one for the "Fashion Show." Sorry there are only two but that is all I could afford with the accessories.

Seriously?!

Yesterday I went shopping for myself. This is a big deal because I didn't go to DI or Walmart...I went to an actual store. I spent some time browsing until I found a couple of outfits I REALLY liked. I was feeling pretty good about myself until I got to the counter to checkout. That is when the following conversation took place:

Salesgirl: Do you want a gift receipt with your purchase today?

Me: Um.....No thank you.

Salesgirl: Ok, if the person you are buying this for doesn't like it or if the clothing doesn't fit she can bring it back.

Me: Um.....ok.

Salesgirl: Oh, you aren't buying this for you are you?

Me: Well, yeah.

Salesgirl: Well then, this is exciting for you....a whole new style.

Me: (utter shock and silence) Ok.

Honestly what do you say to something like that? I was dressed in one of my work outfits and thought I looked decent. I didn't think the new outfits were that different from what I had on. Oh my, a whole new style. I am not sure I am ready for such a drastic change. Too bad for her, I love the clothes and look great.

BEFORE?

AFTER?

A Night At The Museum

For family night last night we went to the Idaho Falls Museum to see the Egyptian exhibit "World of the Pharoahs." It was fantastic!! We were invited to go with my in-laws and had a great time. I was impressed that I actually knew what they were talking about in most of the exhibit information. I am grateful for movies like "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns" which gave me much of my background.

All kidding aside, I really did enjoy seeing some of the artifacts they had discovered and reading about the lives and practices of ancient Egyptians. As always, the Museum of Idaho did a fantastic job displaying the exhibit and had really fun play rooms for the kids to enjoy as well.

We are very lucky to live close enough to take advantage of really amazing exhibits. Previously we have also been able to see the exhibit "A Dinosaur Named Sue." I am pretty excited to see what they will bring next.

My Bad

Sorry to Mac for the last post. I made a most horrific error!! He graduated from Utah State University in Logan. Yeah, I know I am a dork, no comment needed on the matter.