This is my only hole in one. I was pretty pumped.
Michael's hole in one. He made two total.
This was the windmill of doom.
Surprisingly we both did pretty good. By good I mean, we made it in all the holes; most with out cheating.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
We know how to party
All I wanted for my birthday, May 27th, this year was a fun day with Michael. We really haven't had much of a chance lately to just spend some time with each other. I didn't want to have to worry about money, work, school, well anything. So, I gave Michael a couple of options and made him surprise me. So, this morning, he put directions in front of me and we started to drive. I honestly had no idea where we were going. All the cities that were coming had no connection, so I thought, of things I wanted to do. But, then we took our exit, turned left, and went under an underpass and I saw it. There, on my left was GOLFLAND!!! Michael and I have wanted to go and play mini golf for a long time. We had so much fun. We ended up spending five hours playing two rounds of golf and using 110 tokens to get 310 tickets. We got some rad prizes and even had enough to give some tickets to a little girl. I encourage all to enjoy mini golf with those you love.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Oakland Athletics
This is the one picture I took. :) They were playing the Seattle Mariners and won 6-1. I saw several home runs and a coach get thrown out. Even though we aren't baseball fans it was fun to be there and to eat the way-too-expensive-for-what-it-is-food.Thursday, May 21, 2009
Michael speaks to me with his language
Some background info:
1)Michael and I are currently taking a marriage skills class in church. One thing that we learned was our languages of love. There are five different types of languages that people use to express their love to others; words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. I express my love and feel love most from others through words of affirmation. Michael, on the other hand, expresses his love and feels love most through acts of service.
2)I have a cat that is OCD. Whenever she uses her litter box she spends about 5 minutes moving the litter around to make sure that everything is really covered. In the process she gets litter everywhere!!!
The real story:
I try to clean the litter box every other day. Whenever I clean the litter box I have to sweep the bathroom because of my stupid OCD cat. So, when I left to work the other night this is what the bathroom looked like:
As you can see there is litter EVERYWHERE!!! I had a very busy and very crazy night at work but I knew I wanted to clean the cat box before I went to sleep.
But when I came home this is what I saw:
Because I know Michael's language I knew that this was his way of saying, "I love you and I wanted you to know it!" I really wanted to cry because it meant so much to me. It made a perfect end to one really hard day!
1)Michael and I are currently taking a marriage skills class in church. One thing that we learned was our languages of love. There are five different types of languages that people use to express their love to others; words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. I express my love and feel love most from others through words of affirmation. Michael, on the other hand, expresses his love and feels love most through acts of service.
2)I have a cat that is OCD. Whenever she uses her litter box she spends about 5 minutes moving the litter around to make sure that everything is really covered. In the process she gets litter everywhere!!!
The real story:
I try to clean the litter box every other day. Whenever I clean the litter box I have to sweep the bathroom because of my stupid OCD cat. So, when I left to work the other night this is what the bathroom looked like:
As you can see there is litter EVERYWHERE!!! I had a very busy and very crazy night at work but I knew I wanted to clean the cat box before I went to sleep.
But when I came home this is what I saw:
Because I know Michael's language I knew that this was his way of saying, "I love you and I wanted you to know it!" I really wanted to cry because it meant so much to me. It made a perfect end to one really hard day!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
High Spirits in Hard Times
So, my ward is really unique. Every Mother's Day and Christmas (well around Christmas) the Relief Society (the women...for those who don't know) meet during Sunday School and Relief Society. We have musical numbers, that we clap after, and a yummy brunch. The theme is picked out by our wonderful RS President and we have a few, brief talks on that topic. One year ago it made me really uncomfortable because it was different. But now I realize that it's a wonderful tradition and exactly what I need. FYI: all the men of the ward chip in so that every single woman's calling is covered so no one misses a beat.
This Mother's Day Kathryn, RS President, chose the theme of "High Spirits in Hard Times." She felt it was very appropriate for the times we are facing; I have to agree. About two weeks before Mother's Day Kathryn called me up and asked me to speak on how I get through hard times. After a lot of prayer this is what I came up with....
Oh...someone told me it sounded like something they could have read in an Ensign. Just sayin.
The only way to describe my feelings over the last two weeks is...it is such an unique experience to try and figure out how you deal with your problems. Besides, that is, crying your eyes out and hiding under your covers. I do encourage, though, all of you to go home and think of how you get through your problems. It may be hard but it is very rewarding.
For those of you who don't know, I am a baker for a deli called Panera Bread. The thing that sticks out most about my job is the fact that I work straight through the middle of the night. One service that Panera offers is a catering service. Each cafe, or location, has a catering coordinator. At my cafe, Dublin, it is a young lady named Jessica. Jessica goes out and finds businesses who want to jazz up their next meeting with some bagels, sanwiches, or sweets. She then puts orders together and sends them out. As you can probably assume, Jessica works straight through the middle of the day. So, you can imagine, we have very little communication. If Jessica has an order for any thing extra for a catered event she fills out a yellow baker's sheet and puts it in the baker's area. These sheets have every sweet, bread, and pastry that I bake. Jessica simply marks what she needs and I add it to what I am already baking.
The other night, about two weeks ago, I went into work and noticed a yellow baking sheet in my area. Just like clock work, I pulled down the sheet and read over what things extra I needed to bake. I saw 14 extra cheese pastries, 14 extra chocolate pastries, 14 extra pecan braids, and 9 slices of brownie. Just for some foreshadowing you can buy brownie by the slice or whole; one whole browning has 8 slices. when I saw the 9 slices I knew how many brownies we were already baking that night and figured Jessica would have enough so I did not make any extra.
At 5:00 the next morning Jessica came in to start getting her order ready. I had made and set aside all the pastries she had ordered and was slowly cleaning and trying to finish up to go home. Jessica was trying to go as fast as she could so that she could be out the door by 6:00 in order to make it to Livermore in time. At 5:30 Jessica approached me and asked where her brownies were. I stared at her with a blank stare and she once again asked: "Luanne, where are my nine brownies?" Apparently the yellow baker's sheet had been filled out wrong and she had marked 9 slices instead of 9 whole brownies. The next five seconds seemed like the longest of my life. I started to panic. In order to properly proof, bake, cool down, and frost nine brownies I would need about two hours...I had thrity minutes. But, I started to slowly smile and with determination said, "Jessica, consider it done."
I don't think I have ever worked so hard. I went as fast as I could. I had plenty of moments of frustration, some tears, a lot of laughter and two heart felt, very sincere prayers. Mostly, though, I stuck to that orignal bit of determination I had. Needless to say, two cuts and one very bad burn later Jessica was walking out the door with nine beautifully frosted brownies at 6:10, forty minutes later. She successfully made it to Livermore on time and the customer enjoyed them so much she ordered seven more the following week.
As I was driving home that morning I started to ponder what I was going to say today, in church. I, like I had mentioned, only saw myself as crying my eyes out and hiding under my covers whenever I hit a problem. Heavenly Father then sweetly whispered into my ear, "Luanne, remember how you just made all those brownies?" I then realized that when ever I hit a problem in my life I always have a moment of panic, whether it be a few seconds, a few hours, or a few days. But I then slowly start to smile and say with determination, "Heavenly Father, consider it done." I always work so hard. There are plenty of moments of frustration, some tears, lots of laughter and some very heart felt, very sincere prayers. But I always stick to that original feeling of determination. Needless to say, two cuts and one very bad burn later, there is a beautifully frosted problem that I have learned and grown from. The Lord always enjoys my work and throws me another problem, sometimes just one week later.
Even though problems may be hard in your life I hope that all of you are always determined to push through it!
This Mother's Day Kathryn, RS President, chose the theme of "High Spirits in Hard Times." She felt it was very appropriate for the times we are facing; I have to agree. About two weeks before Mother's Day Kathryn called me up and asked me to speak on how I get through hard times. After a lot of prayer this is what I came up with....
Oh...someone told me it sounded like something they could have read in an Ensign. Just sayin.
The only way to describe my feelings over the last two weeks is...it is such an unique experience to try and figure out how you deal with your problems. Besides, that is, crying your eyes out and hiding under your covers. I do encourage, though, all of you to go home and think of how you get through your problems. It may be hard but it is very rewarding.
For those of you who don't know, I am a baker for a deli called Panera Bread. The thing that sticks out most about my job is the fact that I work straight through the middle of the night. One service that Panera offers is a catering service. Each cafe, or location, has a catering coordinator. At my cafe, Dublin, it is a young lady named Jessica. Jessica goes out and finds businesses who want to jazz up their next meeting with some bagels, sanwiches, or sweets. She then puts orders together and sends them out. As you can probably assume, Jessica works straight through the middle of the day. So, you can imagine, we have very little communication. If Jessica has an order for any thing extra for a catered event she fills out a yellow baker's sheet and puts it in the baker's area. These sheets have every sweet, bread, and pastry that I bake. Jessica simply marks what she needs and I add it to what I am already baking.
The other night, about two weeks ago, I went into work and noticed a yellow baking sheet in my area. Just like clock work, I pulled down the sheet and read over what things extra I needed to bake. I saw 14 extra cheese pastries, 14 extra chocolate pastries, 14 extra pecan braids, and 9 slices of brownie. Just for some foreshadowing you can buy brownie by the slice or whole; one whole browning has 8 slices. when I saw the 9 slices I knew how many brownies we were already baking that night and figured Jessica would have enough so I did not make any extra.
At 5:00 the next morning Jessica came in to start getting her order ready. I had made and set aside all the pastries she had ordered and was slowly cleaning and trying to finish up to go home. Jessica was trying to go as fast as she could so that she could be out the door by 6:00 in order to make it to Livermore in time. At 5:30 Jessica approached me and asked where her brownies were. I stared at her with a blank stare and she once again asked: "Luanne, where are my nine brownies?" Apparently the yellow baker's sheet had been filled out wrong and she had marked 9 slices instead of 9 whole brownies. The next five seconds seemed like the longest of my life. I started to panic. In order to properly proof, bake, cool down, and frost nine brownies I would need about two hours...I had thrity minutes. But, I started to slowly smile and with determination said, "Jessica, consider it done."
I don't think I have ever worked so hard. I went as fast as I could. I had plenty of moments of frustration, some tears, a lot of laughter and two heart felt, very sincere prayers. Mostly, though, I stuck to that orignal bit of determination I had. Needless to say, two cuts and one very bad burn later Jessica was walking out the door with nine beautifully frosted brownies at 6:10, forty minutes later. She successfully made it to Livermore on time and the customer enjoyed them so much she ordered seven more the following week.
As I was driving home that morning I started to ponder what I was going to say today, in church. I, like I had mentioned, only saw myself as crying my eyes out and hiding under my covers whenever I hit a problem. Heavenly Father then sweetly whispered into my ear, "Luanne, remember how you just made all those brownies?" I then realized that when ever I hit a problem in my life I always have a moment of panic, whether it be a few seconds, a few hours, or a few days. But I then slowly start to smile and say with determination, "Heavenly Father, consider it done." I always work so hard. There are plenty of moments of frustration, some tears, lots of laughter and some very heart felt, very sincere prayers. But I always stick to that original feeling of determination. Needless to say, two cuts and one very bad burn later, there is a beautifully frosted problem that I have learned and grown from. The Lord always enjoys my work and throws me another problem, sometimes just one week later.
Even though problems may be hard in your life I hope that all of you are always determined to push through it!
Every FIVE weeks
Michael and I are really blessed. Michael is able to go to an accelerated school so he/we can move on with our lives quickly. But sometimes you have to really focus on the good part of the blessings to ignore the bad. I explain...
The bad part:
Michael takes one...sometimes two...classes at a time. These classes last eight hours a day for five weeks. Because the classes are so short once he reaches week two he starts crunch time. This means that he is up late hours, has little sleep, and is super stressed trying to get the project done. During this time our time "spent together" is him on the computer and me doing whatever around the house. On the day/night before the project is due he is so tired that he falls into bed and instantly falls asleep. He then spends the next few days just sleeping..we normally don't really talk at this time.
Going to school is hard. Even though we see each other more now that I'm no longer in school I am still really starting to miss my husband. I know that once he starts working...especially with his career choice...he will still have late hours and stressful times. But, at least when he is at home there will be no homework. It will be just me and him doing...whatever!!
Counting my blessings:
There is only a little less then a year left.
Michael obviously cares about me and our future family because he works this hard so he can one day provide for us.
Michael is going into something that he LOVES!! That almost tops it all.
Finally, even though he works hard and is stressed...he still takes time to tell me he loves me.
I'm almost there....I almost have my husband back.
The bad part:
Michael takes one...sometimes two...classes at a time. These classes last eight hours a day for five weeks. Because the classes are so short once he reaches week two he starts crunch time. This means that he is up late hours, has little sleep, and is super stressed trying to get the project done. During this time our time "spent together" is him on the computer and me doing whatever around the house. On the day/night before the project is due he is so tired that he falls into bed and instantly falls asleep. He then spends the next few days just sleeping..we normally don't really talk at this time.
Going to school is hard. Even though we see each other more now that I'm no longer in school I am still really starting to miss my husband. I know that once he starts working...especially with his career choice...he will still have late hours and stressful times. But, at least when he is at home there will be no homework. It will be just me and him doing...whatever!!
Counting my blessings:
There is only a little less then a year left.
Michael obviously cares about me and our future family because he works this hard so he can one day provide for us.
Michael is going into something that he LOVES!! That almost tops it all.
Finally, even though he works hard and is stressed...he still takes time to tell me he loves me.
I'm almost there....I almost have my husband back.
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