Tender Mercies

wow, let me tell you about my week this week!  It has been pretty crazy, but amazing at the same time.  on sunday i woke up with a very painful left eye.  i could barely keep it open for more than thirty seconds.  you can call me a baby, but i wasn't happy.

stacy and her little bear, claire

so, the first tender mercy of the week happened on that very sabbath day.  i have had the same optometrist for as long as remember, dr. humphreys. he came into work on sunday to take a look at my eye.  he came into the office, shined an excruciatingly bright light into my pupil, and gave me some miraculous drops that were supposed to heal my little eye.  (p.s. my eye had an "abrasion," which is just a fancy word for a scratch, on my pupil.)  he took very good care of me when he could have easily told me to come back on monday.

however, even though the miracle drops were fixing my oculi, i could not wear my contacts for a week.  my lovely friends, kristina and stacy, were kind enough to drive me to lenscrafters so i could buy some glasses.  can you believe that i didn't even have a back-up pair of glasses?  me neither.

isn't this the happiest flower you've ever seen?

but no, that is not the end of the displays of compassion.  my wonderful friend, jessica, brought to my work a bright orange gerber daisy to cheer me up and put a smile on my face.  and my new-found but good friend alvaro walked around a parking lot for half an hour just to find my car and leave a note and some healing chocolate on my windshield.

i am amazed that i have been blessed to know such wonderful people.  each person knows me in a different way and touches a different part of my heart.  we've all heard it said that life is journey.  and for me, the best part of that journey is the people that i meet along the way.  i can honestly say that everyone that i've known and  loved, no matter how we parted, has given me good memories and priceless lessons.

so here is a shout out to all of the fabulous friends i've loved along the way - my second grade teacher mrs. harper who shared my love of horses, my fifth grade 'boyfriend' matthew, my fellow adventurers and experimenters in junior high, heidi, lisa, tanya and josee, my high school bffs, jessica, megan and lindsey, and all those i met in college, stacy, rachel, leah, kristy, ralph, ricks (yes, even ricks), emily, rebecca, kim, natalie, kirsty, bishop shepard, bishop beck, kyle, nathan, lauren, the littles, and kristina.

i love you guys!

thank you for being a part of my life.

Lovenote #3 - one down, three to go!

i submitted my first application! celebrate good times, come on!

the university of wisconsin has an amazing business program with an emphasis in arts administration.  this is a perfect way for me to reconcile my love for theater and my financial ambitions.

my dad began taking our family to the Utah Shakespearean Festival in cedar city, utah when i was five years old.  because i was so young i stayed in a local day care center while my parents and the older children attended the plays.  i remember when i finally turned seven and was released from the confinement of daycare.  at long last i was allowed to attend some of the plays and i fell in love with the liberating world of theater arts.  even at such a young age i remember being moved by a wild rendition of a midsummer night’s dream, and i longed to become an actress.  although i enjoyed being on stage, my dreams for the role i will play in theater has evolved.

i grew up on my parents’ stories of the utah shakespearean festival when it was merely an open air amphitheater with folding chairs and a few patrons.  the festival is now a tony-award winning theater celebrating 50 years of performing excellence.  likewise, i want to help theater and art institutions grow and thrive in local communities.  these institutions provided me with culture, tradition, and new ideas and perspectives. it opened up my mind to new and broader ways of thinking.  i want to help others have similarly uplifting and enriching experiences.

ideally, i would like to work for a local theater in a smaller community.   my ambition is to help these theaters gain national recognition by obtaining excellent actors and creative directors, and giving quality performances to the audience.  this achievement, of course, takes many years of skillful market management, strategy, and fiscal ingenuity. (thus my need for formal management training at wisconsin!)

i do not have many years of experience, especially in the business side of the arts (though I have many years of experience enjoying and supporting the arts).  i don't know if i will get into business schools on this first try.  but i am trying, and believe me, i will try and try again!

carl and cocoa

one of my best friends, jessica, and i just visited the carl bloch exhibit at byu's museum of art.  carl bloch's paintings went largely unnoticed in his own country (as so often happens).  it wasn't until decades after his death that protestant and other christian churches took notice of his elegant portrayals of christ.  the paintings are immense as well as the feelings that they evoke.  the experience is very interactive (thanks to wonderful ipad technology) but more importantly it is very spiritually uplifting and inspiring. i recommend the experience to anyone!

 afterwards, jessica, her husband and i went out for some lovely hot cocoa to warm us on this chilly 4-degree night.  we sauntered down to the creamery, the most happening place in p-town for college freshmen and the rest of us graduated, but still poor, people.  it was so good to catch up and laugh with an old friend.  i swear that a good, gut-wrenching, from-the-soul laugh can make anyone's troubles seem a lot smaller.

Lovenote #2 - church ladies with typewriters

one of the favorite activities of i think all offices is sending hilarious emails to your coworkers.  let's face it, we all need a little something to brighten up our artificially lightened cubicles.  here is the email of the day.  it definitely had me pretending to sneeze in order to stifle my giggles.  enjoy!

They're Back! Those wonderful Church Bulletins! Thank goodness for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences (with all the BLOOPERS) actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:


The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals. 

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The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.' 

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Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands. 

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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you. 

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Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help. 

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Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation. 

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For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days. 

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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow..

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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice. 

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Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children. 

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Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered..

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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility. 

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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon. 

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This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin. 

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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM . All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. Is done. 

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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM . Please use the back door. 

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The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM .. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.