Finally something

You may remember back a couple of months ago I mentioned a competition that was going on at my work. In case you don't, it is a competition to see who provides our customers with the best experience when they call in. Finally after over two months something has happened. It has been narrowed down from the top 12 to the top 8. And yes, I am still in the competition. As to when the competition will end, nobody knows but hey progress was made. At this rate I may have final results for you in about a year. I am hoping that things move along at a slightly quicker rate from this point on, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF

Happy 27th Birthday to my husband!!!

In honour of this, here are 27 great things about Jeff that I am celebrating:

27. He never lets us forget to say couple's prayer.

26. He lets me sleep in and not feel guilty about it.

25. He is a very good primary teacher, the kids, especially Ben, love him.

24. He still opens my door.

23. His smile makes me smile.

22. He is very accomplished at Star Wars Legos.

21. He cooks... every now and then, but he CAN cook!

20. He can set anything up, just give him a minute to figure it out, even if he has never heard of it before.

19. He is hot. (Okay, this one might be the one that I am celebrating alone, but I don't mind bragging.)

18. He has a wonderful singing voice. True story.

17. He plugs in the dishwasher every time it needs to be started cause his wife is too scared she is going to get an electric shock!

16. He will start my car on Sunday mornings when he goes early, so that my car is warm when I get out to it.

15. He is willing to try anything once, without complaining.

14. He really didn't want to see Twilight, but he loves to tease and play games with me.

13. He is a BYU fan. He is also a U fan when BYU is not playing.

12. He gives really good back rubs . . . . . . (hint hint, Jeff, if you are reading this).

11. Life got a million times better knowing he would be next to me through it.

10. He is a good dancer, even if he denies it. Sorry dear, story checks out.

9. He is very good at his job. People at work know him. People whom he does know, know him. They are watching him.... in the good way.

8. He still hangs out with his single friends.

7. He loves his family. All of them. Even Dave.

6. He is very supportive of his family and friends. And wife.

5. He cracks me up all the time! I love it when he will play with me and goof off.

4. He honours his priesthood.

3. He won't fight with me.

2. He will be a little mad at me for doing this, but he usually tries to make me happy above all else, so he will forgive me.

1. I couldn't have thought up anyone better than Jeff.

Unhappy Bird day

So I walked out of work the other day and got in my car to go run an errand. I sat down, and there on my windshield was a bird. Shocked, I took a second look, and the bird was dead. It hadn't flown into the car and died. It was perfectly in tact. It seems that is simply landed on my car and died. Thankfully my boss, Barry was able to take it off so that I could drive home. I sort of have a bizarre fear of birds since I had a pet bird that had a seizure and died in my hand. Crazy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.... in January.

Hello all. I haven't been blogging as of late. I claim business. And Christmas. But I didn't want to let it go by without sharing some of my favorite pictures.

This is Jeff and I on our first Christmas morning. It was very sweet to wake up and spend the first part of the morning just the two of us. Look at cute tree. Jeff got us the red and white bells for our ornaments this year, to represent wedding bells.

Here is the Plowman family on Christmas Eve at the end of a very good sledding trip. It was a blast, and everyone had a good time.

Uncle Jeff with Luke (3) and Jackson (baby). They both love him. You have to keep your eye on Jeff, cause he will steal the babies right out of your arms and woo them away from you.

Grandpa and Luke heading in early from sledding. Good thing Grandpa was there to take him in fifteen minutes after we started.

Wendy, reacting to the Christmas gift that Jeff and I got her. It was a calender of pictures of her and family. It was worth the work to see her face. What a great Christmas morning.

The Wood house on Christmas morning. The little boy in the green is Ryan. And though I don't expect it to last long, I am currently a favorite of his. I have to tell you, being one of his favorites is one of my greatest joys. So for however long it lasts, I am happy for the hugs and cuddles. 

Pam, on Christmas morning. You could see in here face how carefully she plans out Christmas for her family. What a wonderful morning it was. I love her face.

The Plowman Family on Christmas Eve. This is a family tradition to wear costumes and reenact the Christmas story from the Bible. I love to watch grown ups in costumes interact with kids who love to dress up. I love this tradition.

So this Christmas time I got to play Mrs. Claus at Thanksgiving Point Breakfast with Santa. It was a blast. Two other improv-ers from Comedy Sportz played characters. Tonia is the Sugar Plum Fairy in the middle, and Scott is The Grinch. Even though you think that Santa is the big deal, everyone loved the Grinch!

Yours truly as Mrs. Claus! It was so much fun! I loved it. Just another perk that I get from working at Comedy Sportz. It was two hours on four Saturday mornings, and it was nothing but cuddles from cute kids.

Under The Microscope

For Good?.... Or Bad?

So I found out today that I am currently sitting underneath a microscope at work. To give you the back story without boring you with all of the specifics there is currently a contest going on at work. What it comes down to is who performs the best customer service on calls. There are 5 things that they look for. This competition is for all employees located throughout 6 different call centers that Discover has. I have no idea on the exact number of people that were originally involved but I know that between the 2 call centers based here in salt lake there are more than 1000 employees. I think that those are two of the bigger call centers. The winner gets $2500!

The first cuts took it from however many employees are involved down to 300. And the second cuts just came out and took that down to 12. And my name made that list which means I get at least $50! I found that out this past Saturday and being the Wood that I am (sorry to any Wood's that take offense to that, I am definetly the worst at this) had no plans to mention it. That was until I got called into my Department Manager's Office today. I recently (2 months ago) got a new Department Manager and I don't think that I have spoken to him at all. There has been the nod as we pass each other but that is pretty much it. He is a really quite guy and you should know that I am quite as well until I get to know someone. He called me in because in a meeting yesterday with many of the upper management of the slc call centers there my name got brought up as person that was doing on phone calls what they want each of us to do and what they are trying to get us to emphasize. (My department has always been about sales and only sales, but they want us to be more customer oriented than we have been before. While still including a solid product offer.)

Apparently it doesn't end there. A couple of hours later, my coach tried to listen in on my calls to do some coaching with me as he is required to each month. He told me afterwords that he wasn't able to, because my calls were already being listened to by someone (or someones who knows). So for who knows how long I have had / and will have however many people listening to my calls. I am honored by this as it is for a good reason that they are listening to me but at the same time I don't like being watched. Because while I am sure they will see all of the good things that I do, I have to be on my best behavior so I don't get in trouble for cutting any corners that I may or may not have done on an occasional call. I can't imagine them listening to me that much more, but they have already done it more than I would have expected so who knows. (Comment on my own post, I definetly went into more detail than I originally intended. Sorry to all who got bored.)

STAR WARS CAROLS?

Watch out Nickel Creek, here comes Bluegrass Thunder!

Tonight was a great night. I went to see my brother Ben in his bluegrass band. It was so awesome! They played some great Christmas music, and it was amazing to see my brother up onstage performing and totally rocking a fiddle.

This video was Ben taking the solo on Orange Blossom Special. It's so freaking crazy how fast he is playing. I love it!



My parents, Ben and Ben's violin teacher, Jeanne Grover, after the show. He took violin for I don't know how long. She came down to support him with about thirty other people.


Other Fans: Kylee, Mckenna and Dallin came down to see Ben.

So did brother Mike.

A Tale of Two Thanksgivings!!!!

This was our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. And it was a great day. Full of two different families and traditions. Lance is below getting the turkey ready. He ia a phenomenal cook, and I love to go over for great foods of all sorts!


We started our day at the Wood household. Below you see a very common occurrence. The three oldest grandkids gathering around their favorite (I admit it, I'm not ashamed to be second, or third) Aunt Stephanie. She is amazing with kids, and had loads of activities to keep them entertained for hours.
Nicole, one of the most charming people you will ever meet, lays across her Aunt Wendy. If you knew this girl, she would probably be lying across your lap too. There is no one she cannot wrap around her little finger.

After dinner, Dave showed us his VIP contact in his phone: Santa Claus! Yep, Dave has the actual number to the jolly guy. I love Justin's face. He is so elated!


Then Jeff and I ventured over to the Plowman clan. Below, Jana and Jessica demonstrate what has become the most disgusting tradition (that I included) we do. Jana, Jessica and I gather around the turkey as it comes out of the oven, and we peel and eat the skin. I know it's disgusting, but it is so good!



Annual football game. It was a little colder this year than past, but it didn't stop the game or lessen the numbers.


Baby Kira... yes, she is sticking her tongue out at you.


"Want to touch the camera!" Baby Jackson.


Grandpa braved the weather and took three grandkids to the park!

Don't be a scrub.

Joseph B. Wirthlin

Elder Wirthlin passed away this week, and I would feel badly if I did not mention how much I love this man. He has been my favorite speaker in conference for years. Probably since I seriously started watching it over ten years or so ago. I understand that he did not always have the best delivery, but what he said touched me each time, and somehow, it would always be the talk that I remembered. He is my favorite. He always speaks on love. He almost always spoke about overcoming trials and pain. I feel like he speaks right from his heart to me.

When I was sick last year, by dad printed out a quote for me from my most favorite of Elder Wirthlin's talks. The quote is as follows:

"Each of us will have our own Fridays-those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death-Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come."

I love this quote. I repeated it every morning to myself during my treatments. The simple words "Sunday will come" was my mantra and gave me strength when I needed it. I can't really express how this talk has touched me, but it truly changed the way I look at things.

Maybe the most wonderful thing is that Sunday really does come, and for me, it came. I had Jeff through that whole experience. He was my light during a dark time. He loved me through cancer. He asked me to be his wife. We were sealed in the temple surrounded by family and loved ones. I didn't know that life could be so wonderful.

I am grateful for this good man, and his legacy that is left behind. Here are a few more quotes from his most recent talk, "Come What May and Love It" that I love:

The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.

He who descended below all things will come to our aid. He will comfort and uphold us. He will strengthen us in our weakness and fortify us in our distress. He will make weak things become strong

The simple secret is this: put your trust in the Lord, do your best, then leave the rest to Him.

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.

A Hero of Mine

This is my nephew Dallin. I heard the coolest story about him today. A girl in his class at school was just diagnosed with cancer. So eight boys in the class, including Dallin, shaved their heads to show support for this little girl. (Dallin is just eight years old, and already able to make choices that are blessing the life of others.) She has started treatments, and like most lucky candidates, all her hair fell out. These boys didn't just buzz their heads, they shaved it all off. What a great feeling I got when I heard about my nephews service. I cried to think of the Christ-like love that he was willing to show. He has always been a sensitive and tender guy, I'm just so proud.

Anyone who wants to see the story on ksl here is the link.

Good Luck to my friend Kim, who just got some news of her own. Our prayers and love are going out to you Kim. Thanks for the courage and the example.

Diverticulitis

So I found out that officially it is not sympathy pains that I am dealing with. I was diagnosed with diverticulitis. Simply put it is inflammation in the intestines. I am glad that I went in and found out especially after talking with Ginny and finding out that it was diverticulitis that sent her cabinet guy to the hospital. They prescribed antibiotics and it should clear up within ten days. Yay! I have been doing pretty well today and hopefully that means that I am on the right path.

Sympathy Pains

So this past Tuesday I (yes Jeff is actually writing a post) started to have a pain in my abdomen. I was a little worried about it as I haven't experience any pain that I would say is like it. I was thinking it might be appendicitis or something similar even though there weren't any other symptoms to go along with it.

So I called the doctor to set up an appointment. I went in that afternoon and they told me that since it is on the lower left side, there really isn't any organs there that I needed to worry about. The appendix and gallbladder are both on the right. They said the only thing that is there is the intestines and since the only symptom was pain that we should wait a couple of days and come back in if it got worse or I got nauseous or something like that.

So the pain got worse on Wednesday and even worse on Thursday. So Thursday I went back in to the doctor and they drew blood and scheduled a CT for today. The CT was scheduled for 7 am this morning which meant I had the pleasure of waking up at 5 to start drinking the wonderful tasting barium. That said, I still think I got more sleep than Elizabeth last night.

I got done with the scan and now I just get to wait for the results of the blood tests and the scan. I have been taking it pretty easy since Friday and overall feel quite a bit better. There is still pain and especially when I either get up, sit down, or walk. Until I get told otherwise I am just going to assume it must be sympathy pains for the pain that Biz has been having. If you want anymore details on that just look down a couple of posts.

My First Video

This video isn't really about either of us. It is the first video that I have created and thought I would share it.




GO JAZZ!!

I love art!

I really do. I have always wanted to be some sort of artist myself. To the right is a picture from James C. Christensen's collection, entitled, "Sometimes the Spirit Touches Us Through Weakness." The description for this photo is, "a hunchback, an 'everyman,' being visited by an angel and receiving the message that we grow through adversity - we can make our weaknesses into strengths. The hunchback is seated on a box inscribed with a Latin phrase that translates literally as 'after clouds, sun' -the equivalent of 'look for the silver lining." Funny how much more I enjoy the picture when I know the meaning behind it.

I love James C. Christensen's work. He is a close second for me on my favorite artists. I have a book of his work that he has done for the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. He has also done the art for inside the Nauvoo Temple.

I also realize that this is the picture I have chosen for the gallery this week, but I don't care. I think the message and the simplistic beauty of this pictures deserves its own blog spot.

My Trip To The Hospital.

So I went to the hospital this week. I was in a bit of a panic because I found a lump. If your stomach just dropped, I know how you feel. It was in the area where the hip and femur connect. The leg itself had been sore for about a week, and then it started to spread down the leg, and then I felt this tiny little lump. What scared me most was the lump was right where a lymph node was likely to be. (I know that we have hundreds of lymph nodes, but since I've had lymphoma, I have become very aware as to were the lymph nodes are, and what ones are likely to be infected by cancer first. This was one of the spots.)   Basically I couldn't stop till I knew one way or the other. So I went to my regular doctors to see if she thought there was any reason to be concerned. She thought that it was likely a pinched nerve, because of how the pain wrapped around the leg, and didn't follow a straight line. Still, she said I should get a ultrasound, and just make sure that everything was alright. 

So, I waited about an hour and a half at the hospital to get this ultrasound. I now have a little more sympathy for pregnant women, cause the tech did not hold back on how hard she pushed down to take those pictures. Imagine having strep throat, and then having someone pushing down and in all along your throat, taking pictures. Good times. Well, they said they would have the results in two hours. Six desperate and slow hours later, I get the call. It was the nurse (always a good sign when it's the nurse and not the doctor) and she said that it was my lymph nodes. There was an infection, similar to what happens to your throat when you have strep, and they were swollen. They were still within regular size, and the swelling was benign! Good news to hear. Sad news: there is nothing that can be done but to let it ride out on its own. This, apparently is fairly common, which also gives me relief.

I feel a little justified that there was actually something wrong. Weird to say maybe, but I feel everything now. Every twinge, pain, discomfort, I can't help but stop and assess. Am I missing something? Is my body telling me something? The problem is I didn't have any signs before. It came silently, and it was a miracle that it was even found. I hate to feel this way. Like my body and I are on opposite sides. I am reading Trust Jesus by Jeffrey Holland right now. I am grateful to have this book, because it helps to remind me that all I can do it my best. I personally can't guarantee that my cancer will never come back. I can only trust that Jesus has a better plan for me, and that He is aware of me. This is not easy for me to give such power away (like it is even mine to begin with, right?). I am afraid. I feel small sometimes because of it. This has stretched me in ways that I never would have before. Still, it has opened my mind up to the miracle of the atonement. That the physical and mental and emotional scars that are left on me will disappear. It's not easy for me to get to this mindset, but I always find myself coming to the same conclusion. I am grateful to know the truth of it, and that our Heaven Father has set a way for us to be happy, if not always now, then someday that will last.

I have my second to last scan this month. The last will be in May 2009. From there, I will have just over three more years till I'm in recovery.