Random happenings plus a trip to Dallas

So, a lot has happened the last couple of weeks, but I'm not even going to report it in any kind of order, so enjoy the randomness.

I found out about a week ago that I get to go on a business trip next week to Dallas, TX. It's for three days and I'll be there with the Senior Design Lead who is assigned to do a project that involves doing some interviews and focus groups for a company. I'm not officially assigned to the project, but I am not as busy with projects as some others, so I get to go. I'm kind of excited though because it sounds like they're treating us really well with a fancy hotel and meals and all. I'm not used to being treated to all this stuff by businesses--I guess that because I'm the product of the educational system, not the business sector. Work has been kind of slow lately, mostly because I'm ahead on the project I'm working on and have run out of things to work on. I'm learning about how much having no work can be a trial for me. I'm sure there won't be many times in life that I'll have to deal with that. :)

Speaking of trials, Jason is still doing well with seminary. He is trying to learn how to both teach and entertain and even though he spends hours and hours preparing, he still has good days and hard days. He was really excited this week to find out that some of the high school basketball team comes over and plays with the Junior High faculty on Friday afternoons and so he went to play with them for the first time on Friday. He said he really liked it because it was "his style" of basketball. I translate that to mean that the players are actually decent players who know how to do plays and stuff like that. I'm glad that he will get some exercise time that will keep him in shape. He goes running with me a couple times a week, but he usually stays by me if we run at night and I don't know if he even breaks a sweat. :)

We've tried to take advantage of the amazing weather we've had the last two weekends. Last Saturday we actually cleaned the church, washed both of our cars plus Rita's car, and waxed my car. I attended a family bridal shower for my cousin's daughter with my mom and sister and that was fun. Yesterday, after cleaning our apartment, we hiked to Donut Falls. Jason had never been before and it was a fun walk down memory lane for me. It's been a few years since I last went but the trail hasn't changed much even though a rock fall has changed the waterfall part quite a bit. The changing color of leaves in the canyons was beautiful and it was such a beautiful day. The sad part was that a boy had just fallen through the hole of the falls about 30 minutes before we got there and had dislocated his hip. We saw a lot of firemen and emergency help hike up the falls and lower him down in a stretcher. It was quite the drama. We felt like we were watching a movie as we sat there on a rock eating our picnic lunch and watching the emergency people try to get this boy down the falls.

Another happening was that Jason lost his wedding ring last week. He lost is some time Saturday and noticed it on Sunday when he didn't have it to wear to church. He look quite a bit on Sunday and Monday, but didn't find it. He thought he might have left it at the temple and we called and went there to check with no luck. Then yesterday we decided to look more diligently. We prayed and then found it about 5 minutes later. Apparently it had fallen into some gift boxes when I was wrapping a gift last week. I'm glad we found it then because I don't think we would have come across is again for many months.

We were sustained last week as members of the activities committee. Neither of us has ever been on any type of activities committee before, so it's a new experience for us. Jason claims it's not his forte, but it looks like he's going to get some learning experiences. Hopefully it won't be too painful. :)

We're grateful for all the yummy meals we've been enjoying with people lately. Two weeks ago  Boyd and Rita, our landlords, invited us over for dinner and treated us to barbeque ribs and some Venezuelan food since Rita is from Venezuela. It was delicious. Last Sunday we ate a delicious dinner at  Jason's parents' house for a family FHE and watched the CES fireside. Monday my parents came and visited me at my work during lunch time since they are just four blocks away. And tonight my old roommate Sara Moulton came over for dinner and peach cobbler. We like visitors and hopefully can keep arranging more visits from friends and family to our new apartment.

One last random thing. Last night Jason and I went to a Stake adult dinner thing and ended up participating and helping more than most of the long-time members of the Stake. We got there early and helped set up, we participated in a "minute to win it" game, starred in a ward skit, and then stayed afterwards to help clean up. We were probably one of the youngest couples there with an average age of 50+. I'm sure the older members appreciated the help and energy of us young whipper-snappers.:) Oh, and did I mention that we actually won the game? We had to keep a feather in the air by hitting it with our hands longer than the other teams and we won. They rewarded us with the Golden Feather Award--very prestigious I'm sure. :)

Well, that's probably enough news for today. Thanks for hanging in there to read it all.

Labor Day Weekend

This week has been a little calmer in comparison to the newness and busyness of the last few weeks. I’m settling in a little more to work and was assigned a project for a pharmaceutical company. It’s not a big project, but a relatively simple one for me to start on. It will be to create three web-based training (WBT) courses. The first course in 30 minutes and the other two are 20 minutes each. We had the kick-off meeting with the client and it went fairly well despite that it was a teleconference to San Francisco and we had technical difficulties for the first 20 minutes or so. I’ve starting learning the content and writing up the design documents. I’m working with one other full-time designer for the first course. She has been there about 5 months and her name is Julie also.

Jason had his first full week of teaching seminary. He likes it and is learning a lot about teaching and about 9^th grade motivations. He works long hours since it takes him a long time to prepare lessons for the next day. He was already observed once and he felt like the observation went well.

Both Jason and I had a couple of firsts this week. He volunteered at the church cannery on Wednesday and helped can corn for several hours. One sister working with him called him “lightning hands” but he wasn’t too flattered since most of the people volunteering at the time were twice his age. He said it was amazing what resources the church has to do projects like this on a regular basis.

My first happened to be walking a dog. Our landlords own a German Shepherd and since Jason grew up with a Golden Retriever Cali during his teen years, he volunteered to help walk their dog named Estrella (which means Star in English). Apparently Estrella wasn’t as excited to run with us as Cali is and we were running faster than she was for a lot of the time. At one point Jason couldn’t handle going so slow and wanted to run faster so I volunteered to take Estrella around the loop of the park while he lapped us. Having never walked a dog before, I was a little anxious since I didn’t know how she would react to other people and dogs, but she did pretty well.

Saturday we ate lunch at Jason’s parents house with his Grandpa and Grandma Richards and three of his cousins attending BYU, two of which just got home from their missions recently. The food was delicious! That night Jason and I volunteered at Thanksgiving Point for the Jon Schmidt piano concert. We had to be there a couple hours before it started to help direct people being seated. It was an outdoor amphitheater and it was fairly hot outside. Before the concert we got to walk around the gardens for about 15 minutes and they were beautiful. Then we sat down and watched most of the concert. I really enjoy listening to his music, so it was fun. However, at the end, both of us decided that the next time I want to go to a concert, we should just pay the money and not come 2 1/2 hours early. :)

Weekend Adventures

Friday I had a follow-up eye exam in Provo and Jason had a seminary family get-together so we tried to run all of our errands down there at the same time. Unfortunately it didn't start off very well because of several accidents on the freeway Friday afternoon. I thought I wouldn't have any problems since I left at 3:00pm, but I couldn't even get on the freeway South bound. I was herded to the Northbound entrance and ended up taking Bangerter Highway all the way around the valley until it meets back up at I-15 in Draper. Needless to say, with even more traffic in Utah County and making a quick stop to pick Jason up in Lehi, it took me almost 2 hours to get to Provo, and 45 minutes late for my eye appointment. Fortunately they were really nice and I got there just before it closed so they let me meet with the doctor.

The seminary dinner turned out well. We ate dutch oven ribs, potatoes, and cobbler. I'm sure I'm making at least some people jealous. :) It was delicious. The weather didn't cooperate very well though and because of the wind and rain we had to cut it a little short.

After running a few more errands in Provo, Jason and I stopped at the new Trafalga in Lehi (formally known as Liberty Land) since we had a couple free activity passes. We ended up playing mini-golf outside even though it has already rained and there were puddles on the course. It was still fun and the puddles just acted like sand traps in our game. Because of our competitive nature, we end up doing every hole at least twice so we can get our best score. Jason started this tradition and I got tired of waiting for him, so I joined in. :) Three holes before the end, it started down pouring. We couldn't leave before the end, so we ran around and finished the last three holes. We were soaked!

Before our night ended, we got lost in Bluffdale looking for a KSL seller with a nightstand that we wanted to look at. It took us a couple phone calls and a lot of time to find it, but we finally succeeded and came home with a very inexpensive nightstand.

Saturday morning our ward organized a hike up Bell Canyon and a barbeque. We got there a little late and we only saw one person from the ward the whole time we were on the 4 mi. round trip hike. We hiked to a beautiful waterfall at the back of the canyon. It took us about 2 hours to get up there and 1 hour to get back down. The trail is fairly steep in some places with lots of rocks and boulders. I'm sure Jason could have gotten up to the waterful in an hour, but he was nice and waited for his winded wife. It took up longer than expected to do the hike and we ended up missing the barbecue, but the hike was gorgeous and worth the time and effort to get there. I hope to go up there again in the Spring.

You can't see in the picture very well, but I'm standing on the path and we had to climb a steep path of boulders.

Bell Canyon Waterfall

Isn't that a gorgeous waterfall? 

A fun bridge right in the middle of the hike

The view from the other side of the bridge

Reminds me of the Sound of Music or something. :) This was at a reservoir about 1/2 mile into the hike.

All in a Day's Work

Jason's mom asked me a few questions a couple weeks ago that I finally got a chance to answer about my work. I thought others might be interested in the answers as well so I'm posting them here.

What will your day consist of?

So each day is pretty different, it depends on what part of the design process I'm in. At the beginning of a new project, it consists of reading up and learning the subject matter that I'll be designing. The subject matter generally deals with training, but could be for banks, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, automobile companies, the government, etc.

After you learn the content, then I put together a high level preliminary design usually with mock-ups of possible what the training might be like. Then we have a Kick-off meeting with the client either in person, or over the phone/internet. The Kick-off meeting can last anywhere from 2 hours to 2 days depending on the size of the projects. During that meeting we solidify what the objectives are, ask clarifying questions about the content, present the preliminary design ideas to get feedback, etc.

Following the meeting I write up a 25+ page design document that details the plans for the training in writing. That is sent to the company for approval, and once it is approved, then I actually start scripting the training on the company application that turns what I do into a website. The application has several basic templates for web pages that can be modified, but I work with programmers and graphic artists for help with the technical aspects and professional help creating the graphics.

Once it's scripted, it goes back to the client for review. Usually there are changes to be made and once I make the changes, the training goes to Quality Control for a thorough edit and testing. After it passes QC and the final edits are done it is delivered to the client.

All of these steps are put into a fairly tight time-line. The project that I'm starting right now is for a pharmaceutical company. It will start Monday and the first course has to be done the last day of September, and then I'll design two more courses for them by the first part of November. In this particular case we have a really tight time-line, so hopefully everything goes smoothly.

What kinds of projects will you be working on?

I'm assigned to work on different projects, and it just depends on what they have at the time. I'll always be assigned to at least one project, but could potentially be assigned to a two or three depending on their size and scope.

Do you work on a computer at a cubicle or...?

I have a cubicle, but it is fairly large. I would guess it's 6 ft. x 5 ft. or so. I have my own computer with several drawers and a couple of shelves. It even has a white board on one side. Almost every one that works there is in a cubicle. There are only three office rooms that I've seen, plus about three conference rooms.

What are your hours?

The hours are somewhat flexible. I just need to work at least 8 hours a day and most people show up between 8:00 and 9:00am. I can have an hour lunch break, but I try to make it short so that I can go home sooner. Since I'm salaried, I don't have to clock in, but I do have a time tracker that I report how many hours I've worked on different projects.

Do you get good benefits?

I think the benefits are good. They are better than I originally thought, but they aren't as amazing as some other companies I've heard about --namely, Microsoft. The company helps mitigate the cost of insurance, parking, etc. I'll accrue up to two weeks of vacation a year, and they are pretty lenient on sick days as long as you don't take advantage of them. The company also provides lunch for its employees every Thursday, which is nice.

I do like my job. The people there are very friendly and welcoming and the people in managerial roles are connected to the employees and seem to be well respected.

Wedding Day and a look at our new apartment

It was Jason's cousin Whitney's wedding yesterday. We were invited to attend their sealing in the Salt Lake Temple where they were sealed by their Grandpa Richards. Here is a picture of all the cousins that were at the reception. We've gotten together a lot with most of these cousins over the last year.

Mike, Jessica and their four cute kids, Andrea and Nate, Whitney and Cody, Mandy and Nick, Amanda and Craig, Julie and Jason

Also, here are a few pictures of our new apartment.

Entry door on the right, master bedroom just behind, and spare bedroom to the left

Master bedroom for the Master. :)

Nice big closet in the master bedroom. Jason has his own closet on the other wall.

Nice clean bathroom

Gourmet Kitchen with not one, but three lazy susans and a gas stove

Small living area that fits our great furniture. Husband not included.

Unfortunately, we still have a room in boxes, but it's coming along.

Spare bedroom still in boxes. Project for next weekend.

I forgot to take a picture of it, but there is also a small furnace room that has a small washer and dryer. It's sooooo nice to be able to wash our clothes in our own apartment!

Starting a New Adventure

It isn't every week that you graduate, move, and start a new job.

Jason and I both graduated from BYU on August 12th and 13th--Jason with a Bachelors of Science in Marriage, Family, and Human Development, and me with a Masters of Science in Instructional Psychology and Technology. It was much more fun to graduate together and sit by each during the graduation ceremonies, but let me tell you, August is the month to graduate! It was not nearly as crowded as the April ceremonies are which translates into shorter ceremonies. Elder Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy spoke to us in the Commencement Exercises and Andrew Gibbons, the Chair of my department, was the key note speaker at my convocations. Jason walked with me at both commencement and convocations, so he got to sit in softer seats! The funniest part of graduation was the fact that I was wearing the wrong colors on my hood and tassel. Apparently you can graduate with any degree you want if you just check the right box when renting the gowns. :) And so, I graduated with a Masters of Education! :)

Julie and Jason behind the Smith Fieldhouse

Nicky Burgoyne Smith and Jana Chapman and two great friends that went through the program with me.

My parents, Julie, Jason, Jason's parents

Jason standing in front of the Coding Lab where he worked.

After the commencement exercises, Jason and I went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse with my parents and Jason's parents. Boy was it LOUD, but the food was delicious--the best steak I've ever eaten!

Graduation activities were mixed with packing up all our belongings and moving to a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment in Sandy, which was a long process stretching from the first load last Thursday to the last load on Tuesday. Where did we get so much stuff anyway? :) We live above the garage of an older LDS couple that we found after looking through TONS of listings on the KSL classifieds. We actually spent a long time looking for an apartment over the course of about five days, but things just worked out really well with this Sandy place. The owners were apparently impressed after we first met them to look at their apartment and they called us about four hours later to see "what they could do to get us there." It turned out that they lowered the rent $100 a month for us, which was a very generous offer. We really appreciate them and they are great landlords doing everything they can to help us out . . . including buying an extra internet booster to make sure we have the best internet access, getting us a couple new lightbulbs the same day we asked, giving us fresh tomatoes and other vegetables from their garden, teaching their German Shepherd dog Estrella to like us, and helping us get into our apartment most of the four times we've locked ourselves out in the last week. :)

We have really appreciated the many, many people that have helped us pack, move, unpack, and donated furniture to us for our apartment. We left our last apartment with just a small bookcase and have now acquired a bed, couch, love-seat, coffee table, end table, nightstand, chest of drawers, desk, TV, TV stand, lamp, and vacuum. Truly people have been so kind!!! I just hope that I too can practice such generosity as I am in a position to do so. The last several days I have felt full of gratitude several times each day.

The last adventure I'll mention is that fact that I've started my new job at Allen Communications. I'll save the detail for another post, but I can tell already that it is a good and generous company that treats their employees well. Case in point: On my first day there, Jason accidentally locked himself out of the apartment at 10:00 in the morning and no one was home to let him back in. I didn't find out until noon and didn't think I could do anything about it. When I mentioned it to my boss around 1:00, she said, "Why don't you just take all this paperwork home and we'll see you tomorrow." What a kind thing to do! She was really too busy herself to train me anyway that day, so I was so grateful she let me come home to rescue Jason. Otherwise, he would have been locked out at least another three hours.

It's much easier to endure life's trials when your eyes are so acutely fixed on all the blessings!

Lost a contact, found a job!

So this has been a crazy week! It's getting closer and closer to the time when I graduate, our housing contract ends, and I have to leave my university jobs--all without knowing what comes next. Well, a few things fell into place this week.

Friday morning we had the opportunity to attend the Provo Temple with a group of seminary and institute teachers. We met before in one of the meeting rooms and the Provo Temple President, Pres. Merrill J. Bateman came and spoke to us for about 45 minutes. It was really interesting and I learned new things about the temple that I didn't know. He even opened it up at the end for a short question and answer session which was also very interesting and a great opportunity. I'll have to tell you about it in the temple sometime. :)


That morning as I was getting ready to go to the temple, I opened my contact lens case to put in my contacts for the day and when I opened up the left side, there was nothing in it. In my 13 years of wearing contacts, that has never happened to me. I remember putting it in the night before, but in the morning, it was gone. It's hard to know where to look for it when that's the case. Unfortunately, since I wear gas permeable contacts and not soft lenses, I couldn't just open up a new package of lenses. I've actually had those lens for about four years, so I'll have to go in for an eye exam and order new ones. That's another thing I'm trying to take care of before we move. :) Of course trials also accompany the blessings, and although I don't consider this a huge trial, it has been somewhat inconvenient.  

A huge blessing came earlier in the week however. Monday night I got a call from Allen Communication Learning Services in Salt Lake to come in for a second interview on Tuesday. I went in and met with the Director of Instructional Design and the Chief Learning Officer. The interview went well and they were very interested with the work I've done with my master's project simulation. At the end of interview they said they would let me know in the next day or two and might invite me to come in for a panel discussion interview. Unexpectedly I got a call that night from them offering me a job. They sent an email that night with the details and I accepted the offer the next day.

 
 It really is a blessing to be offered such a good job. I have interviewed four times with principals for teaching positions and had several other offers for teaching interviews, but things just kept not quite working out. I've had enough experience as an instructional designer to think that it's something that I excel at and am interested in, but not enough that I feel really comfortable or confident doing it, especially in a business setting. So, I am somewhat nervous but grateful for the opportunity. The pay is more generous than I expected and because they offered me a full-time position I'll be able to get benefits for both Jason and I while he completes his student teaching. Additionally, it could turn into a convenient part-time job to have once we have children if it's needed. The shock is finally starting to wear off and Jason and I are busy finishing up what we need to here at BYU before we move and I start work on Aug. 18th.

Friday night I also convinced Jason that we should hike the Y before we leave. We didn't leave our apartment until after 8:30pm so we hiked up the trail during sunset and reached the Y about dusk. I'm always surprised at how STEEP that trail is! They might as well put a staircase right up the mountain side. It was kind of windy that night so a lot of the pictures didn't turn out, but you can see in these that I'm wearing my glasses since I lost my contact.

You can see the Provo Temple on the far right side which can kind of orient you.

The last time we hiked the Y was right before we got engaged.