Stained Glass

I've always been intrigued by stained glass in kind of a love-hate relationship. I think it's neat and a little old fashioned but I've never seen a place I just love it.
I remember a man from Boston who was deaf who came to Shelter Cove, CA where my grandparents have a beach house. He taught us how to do stained glass and I was so fascinated as I watched him.
I knew from that day on that someday I wanted to make something out of stained glass. It didn't mean I had to master the art, but that I wanted to make a piece that was meaningful to me in some way.
I loved traveling Europe and seeing beautiful Rose windows and I also loved the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris -- it had amazing stained glass walls in the high Gothic style when the goal was to nearly erase all structural elements and instead use stained glass.
So I've told Danny I want to make a door with stained glass in our future home.
I finally figured out what I want to do -- it will be BEAUTIFUL! (And yes, probably much beyond my skill level, but what can't you do with Danny at your side?)

via

Happy Day

I am so glad for happy, sunny days. I love running to the gym and seeing the dew on the grass. I love seeing tulips all open and gardens that are thriving – especially with old men working out in those gardens.

I love being in beautiful places and being able to change model homes each day because I get to be in places that remind me of the temple; they are clean and not cluttered but harmonious.

I love Danny so so much! He does everything he can each day to make my life the happiest life in the world. He’s let me take our new Sonata for most of the week and this morning he moved all my stuff into the Sorrento, which was way sweet because there was a lot of stuff! He satisfies my every whim; when I wanted to get Sammy’s shakes last night because I was hungry and on my period and hadn’t eaten basically anything all day, he took me there and loved every second of it. I love memories of guessing each other’s favorite paintings in Sammy’s and driving with the blue lights of our brand new car, listening to fun music that both of us enjoy. I love how he’s always so happy to see me when I get home and that he gives me a hug and kiss and we go sit on the bed and talk; there’s never too much stressful stuff he talks about when I get home but just pure happiness to be with him where I belong.

I love what a hard worker he is and how much he enjoys thinking of business ideas; even when we go to Sammy’s we have an idea of how this could become huge and where it would succeed and how the people in a certain place would receive it. We wondered about the cars all decorated and parked outside of Sammy’s and whether they drove those cars even with flat tires.

I think it’s so funny that he often forgets lunch. Even when he makes it; I feel so badly on days like today when I see his lunch sitting on the counter when I know he wanted it so badly and just forgot. It’s funny because you think boys are always thinking about food; but he’s not always.

He is so hot! I loved seeing him this morning in his favorite blue shirt and tie; his hair fixed and he was just bursting with energy --- ready to go conquer the world!

I love how often he calls me during the day when we’re both at work. I’m glad no one minds when I talk on the phone and that Steven knows that Dan’s completely devoted to me as Steven is to his wife --- so he’s understanding about all the talking when Dan’s at work. It’s funny because the first few months of our marriage we hadn’t been apart longer than to use the bathroom so that’s established a pattern that we just expect to be together every moment we possibly can!

I love how much he encourages me and calls me “star player” and “playmaker” and knows I will succeed. And funny thing, even if I didn’t sign a home for months he’d still think I was succeeding; even if I didn’t work hard, he’d know I was succeeding in something else. How fantastic a life I have; how fantastic a love.

I LOVE YOU DANNNY!!!

P.S. this is part of a new thing I'm TRYING to do each day called a feelings journal. You just write whatever you're thinking about. Part of it is to record your happy moments but also if it's something you're worried about, you just write about it until you have nothing left to write and then burn it -- so you don't spend time agonizing about it.

Hawaii

Here is a record of all the fun we had in Hawaii. I was amazed because I imagined Hawaii being Oahu (developments) and then hotels and beaches. It was amazing how many natural wildlife areas there were and how there were little shacks.
We saw huge slugs and cockroaches...and a lizard's wriggling tail after it had fallen off! I've always thought that would be quite a sight!
We enjoyed restful sleep and days full of excitement --- riding the waves.
I especially loved reading The Slight Edge, a book about how to implement your goals and how to structure your life.
I am so so happy I didn't get burned. I thought the first day it would surely happen but I put tons of sunscreen on and would even sit on the beach wrapped up in towels...but there will be no skin cancer here!
Here is a record of all the fun we had in Hawaii. I was amazed because I imagined Hawaii being Oahu (developments) and then hotels and beaches. It was amazing how many natural wildlife areas there were and how there were little shacks.
We saw huge slugs and cockroaches...and a lizard's wriggling tail after it had fallen off! I've always thought that would be quite a sight!
We enjoyed restful sleep and days full of excitement --- riding the waves.
I especially loved reading The Slight Edge, a book about how to implement your goals and how to structure your life.
I am so so happy I didn't get burned. I thought the first day it would surely happen but I put tons of sunscreen on and would even sit on the beach wrapped up in towels...but there will be no skin cancer here!
Here's a smilebox my mom made:
http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a51304e6a597a4e6a5a384d7a6b304e7a67794e54633d0d0a&sb=1">link">link

Mexicans know how to Pahr-tay!!!!

We live in a house and have neighbors who live in the basement. They are the sweetest family! He is from Argentina and she is from Mexico. And while Oscar speaks a little English, Nancy doesn't speak any.

We love their little son Jonathan (yawn-a-ton as they call him).

Today was his baptism and we found out Mexicans know how to PARTY!!!

I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A BIG PINATA IN MY LIFE

They wrapped kids with TP

The adults played musical chairs

There was amazing hispanic food and tons of decorations and they invited over 50 people!!! Everyone was so nice and very few spoke any English so it felt like we were in another country...and we were the minority!

We spent most of the time hanging out with the kids.
Dan's favorite sight today was to see him jump off the cement patio and belly-flop into the grass and dirt of the back yard wearing his completely white 3-piece baptism tux!

The party was complete with Barney, Baby-Bop, and BJ who sang "I love you, you love me" and all the kids danced to spanish music---chipmunk style! I do have to admit, the macarena sounded pretty funny sung in a high-pitched chipmunk voice!

What a fun evening! Danny made the greatest observation...when he does something nice for me (an adult) it lasts a long time with me appreciating it. When you do something as nice as a 8 hour party for a 3 year old complete with everything they could want...it lasts only momentarily.

Just after the party, we hear screaming and stomping feet like we've never before heard from little Jonathan. :)

Priorities...

Last week Dan and I sat down and made some goals. These included for me:
Personal scripture study daily
Bedtime 10:30
Work out 6 days this week
Work 40 hours and get 30 leads this week

I'm making goals again for next week...and I realized were my priorities are APPARENTLY.
I worked out 6 days this week and worked 40 hours and got 30 leads.
However I failed on bedtime and personal study.

Just thought I'd make record for my kids to remember --- maybe it will make them feel a little human like when my Dad told me he fell asleep typing a paper and missed classes in college. Seriously. That was comforting.

Kids, your parents weren't always perfect ;)

Chameleon

My father taught me about being a chameleon.
Being a chameleon means that you adapt to whoever is around you.
I began practicing on dates.
If the date was a sports fan, I was a sports fan. If they loved travel, we spent most the date talking about traveling. If they were spiritual, our discussions were gospel-based. If they were the life of the party personality and everything was about being fun and spontaneous, we threw oranges out of their jeep going 70 mph.
You see, being a chameleon means that you are still your own person but you are so varied in your interests that you converse with everyone.
And you match them.
If they want to speak very slowly, you speak very slowly etc.
This skill has served me well as I begin my career in Real Estate. I have so much fun because when someone walks through the model door I immediately have a challenge.
I first guess what personality-type they are. Are they an owl (to the facts person), or a bull who wants to be in control.
Then I let them lead the conversation. And if a guy is super gruff, you simply remark to his wife "wow, he's not cutting me any slack!" Because he WANTS to feel in control; he WANTS to be gruff!
And if they ask you all the facts, you answer them straightforwardly.
And if their only interest in the home is the movie they saw last Friday, you talk about that.

It is so fun to me.
I love matching people.
It is truly a skill you can develop.

And I've learned that people really often like their same type of personality (e.g. analytical owls like the people who answer their 27 questions they've been asking every builder in the state) so it's fun to try and mirror them and connect with them no matter who they are.

What I learn in training.

I am blessed to have one of the best trainers in the entire world! I love going to work because it is continually a growing process where I realized more about myself, come to appreciate other people, and cultivate this compelling desire to help others do what is truly best for them.

Tonight I learned a lesson about organization. However, this lesson has been building for months.
I have observed Steven, my trainer, and how he is incredibly organized with prioritizing his time. This doesn't mean that his desk is always picked up, but the more important "life" type of organization.
I have been trying very hard to not work sporadically -- trying not to fall into my typical trap. Instead of taking a couple days off of work and life and completing everything on my to-do list I'm trying to accomplish a few things each day, beginning with the most important.

You see, I am a person who tends to jump into things. Whatever I am doing at that moment becomes all-consuming and I feel that I should devote my entire life to that task.
This is inconvenient.
I play the guitar and think that's what I'll do every night for the next month.
Or paint and think I should immediately change my major to art.
I mean to blog for 5 minutes and I post 15 blogs at once and then don't post for 3 weeks (It's true, check the posts).

So while making this transition I observed a client (let's call her Sandra --- though I've seen many cases identical to this one) who is thinking of buying a home. Her credit could be amazing but truly, she wasn't organized. Some bills came to her parents home and she didn't get them quickly enough. She accumulated collections and though they could easily have been paid off, the collectors then continue counting the debts after they are paid. And she has a low low credit score so she can't qualify for a house.
It's amazing to me that this person could have never had a single collection and could have avoided the mess had they been organized.

And yet, I see myself in similar situations! I was notified a week ago that I was missing a class for graduation. I now have to petition it! So stupid because it could have been easily taken care of had I been organized.

SIDE NOTE
I also hate missing out on ANYTHING.
--I wanted to go on the high school choir trip not because I'd love LA or Disneyland but because I didn't want to miss out on all the inside jokes.
--When I was young my parents made me a check off list because I would come out of bed a ridiculous amount -- I didn't want to miss anything!
Danny and I observed that I usually go to bed a few hours later than I would choose to and it's because I have this drive to do everything or I'll miss out! I can't sleep --- things are still going on in the world!
Even today I can't take a nap because I can't miss out on anything that's going on.
--I used to go to the spontaneous dance party though I would have rather been home painting or reading because I thought I'd miss out.