Where I work, continued

To contrast the hijinks from a previous post, here are photos of my office:

The mess on my desk is a project that I am currently writing text for and the box of projects I'm working on.

These are the boxes of projects that I've either written text for or are waiting for text. Actually, only a few boxes are waiting for text. I'm catching up!

If it looks like a lot of work, that's because it is, heh. And by "writing text" I mean that I type up the name of the project (the scrapbook page, card, mini album, or other project), the name of the person who made it, the dimensions, the supplies used to make it, some kind of tip, and most of the time, instructions on how to recreate it. I've gotten very, very good at figuring out how things are made, I'm not going to lie. And considering I had zero crafting experience when I started, I consider this quite the accomplishment.

I get a lot of blank looks when I tell people I work for a scrapbooking/crafting magazine. Like, completely blank, bewildered, confused looks. Like they don't know what scrapbooking is, or they can't imagine anyone ever wanting to be in that business. I also get the feeling that people don't realize how big the scrapbooking industry is. Ours is actually the only publishing company that has increased the number of magazines we're publishing, rather than cutting back. We don't have a lot of ads or editorial articles--almost all we publish are reader submissions. So someone who just does this as a hobby could get her card or layout or home decor project published in one of our magazines. It's kinda cool, and one of the reasons we're still in business. We actually have readers/submitters from all over the United States, as well as England, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Australia, the South Pacific, and South Africa, to name a few.

In all honestly, the work I do and the words I write aren't life-changing. Somedays it seems very trivial. But there are hundreds of women around the world who read (okay, skim) what I write. To the company I work for, what I do definitely matters and is appreciated. And really, I can't ask for much better than that.

Today at Capitol Hill/Where I work

Today, Tim and I joined my extended family in a ceremony with Utah's governor, Senate, and House of Representatives to honor the families of fallen soldiers. We were there for my cousin Nigel and to support his family. It was a very nice and brought up some tears for everybody, but I'm going to save my thoughts about Nigel for next week and the year anniversary of his death. Something to look forward to, right?

For today, however, enjoy some photos of my work place:

First, the office of a co-worker who, while in England for a craft/trade show (so, on a business trip), got his office "Jimmered". Oh yeah, I should tell you he's a University of Utah fan...

Second, the office of the other co-worker who was on the trip. Yes, those are packing peanuts, about 140 cubic feet, I believe. And yes, that is a mannequin with a packing peanut bikini. And yes, she's holding a pink bra. Very mature.

I made it very clear from the get-to that I would not help clean up the peanuts. It was such a mess! But it was hilarious to watch my boss (boss as in, one of the guys who owns the company) dive into the packing peanuts and disappear completely. This is the same man who had enlisted half the office to stop working and help him prank these guys. Yes, this is where I work. So awesome.

Sunday night at the Maryon house

I could tell you about our Sunday evening, but I think the pictures say it all...



Rachel and Jase brought a piñata.




We all took a turn.




And when Tim smashed the piñata open, we pushed and shoved each other out of the way to get at the candy inside.




And after the candy had been picked over, the piñata dinosaur head became a hand puppet.



Gotta love Sunday nights at the Maryon house.

Love, Wally

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Yes, it's a silly, made-up holiday that causes stress and disillusionment, but happy day all the same. I've always tried to make it a point of having a good day on Valentine's Day, regardless of my relationship status and you know, I've never had a particularly bad one yet.

This year, Tim and I used Valentine's Day as an opportunity of doing some special things together, rather than as a pressure-filled, overly romantic holiday. The Saturday before, we went to see The Foreigner at the Hale (Have I raved about this show yet? SO GOOD!) and went out to eat at a real restaurant, quite the luxury around here. The day itself was just a normal day with a few more chocolates than normal and the end of the North and South miniseries, a twenty hour-long soap opera-style drama set during the Civil War. Classic. Mostly, Valentine's Day was just a day. Tim gave me new shoes, I gave him kitchen utensils. I could say something cheesy about every day being Valentine's Day, but really, every day I love my husband and he loves me and I appreciate having days that let us make it something special.

I also think that Valentine's Day isn't just about your spouse/boyfriend/etc., it's about all the people in your life. And I got thinking back to high school, when my best friends and I were none of us dating anyone, though we all wished we were, and we invented a fictitious boyfriend named Wally. I don't remember why we picked Wally (there was a semi-logical reason, I just don't remember) but he was the perfect man (hence being fictitious). We wouldn't tell any of our guy friends who this mysterious Wally was, but we made sure they knew we were in love with him.

And then on Valentine's Day, there was a flower from Wally on my desk in my first class. Later in the day, I got chocolate and a card from him, signed in one of my best friend's handwriting. The four of us had given each other Valentine's Day gifts in Wally's name. It was fun and silly, but as I remember now, I am amazed at how truly sweet that day was. We each wanted to make sure the day didn't go by without our best friends feeling special and loved, because they were. Maybe not by a boyfriend, but by several best friends, and truly, that is what this day is about.

So Happy Valentine's Day. Know that you are loved, you are special, and a new pair of shoes and some chocolate make for a good day anytime.

Ebb and Flow

I started a post earlier today so I could whine about not getting sleep and having a spouse who doesn't (ever) get sleep. It was going to be self-pitying and extremely dull, and I put off writing it because I knew it would be.

Then Tim and I went to BYU to do our taxes. Not where you'd necessarily think to find a miracle, but there it was. Thanks to the magical program that calculates your taxes for you, we owed way less than we had anticipated, which was awesome in and of itself. But the best part? With the money we had saved up in anticipation of taxes, we had enough to get rid of one of our car repair bills that has been hanging around for a couple months. Glory hallelujah! What an incredible feeling to watch that "amount owed" number drop to zero!

I went to work after that on a high, energized and enthusiastic about life once again. By the time I returned home, I had fallen back to my previous pathetic mood. I had swung from "best day ever!" to "uggghhhh." Yes, it was a long day involving three separate jobs and driving on the freeway and thinking about unpleasant things, but it also involved spending time with my husband in the middle of the day and getting really good news about our taxes.

One of the women whose blog I follow writes a lot about ebb and flow, the exchange of good and bad, productive and lazy, chaotic and controlled. Not until today did I recognize what she meant in my own life. My day ebbed and flowed and I have to say, I did not endure the ebb part very well. I let it pull me down and drag me under, which was made apparent to me after I found myself riding the flow. I sometimes wish for more "flow" days in life, but facts are, I can't escape the other days and moments. I'd be so much happier if I could still enjoy those days, or at least not become a dull, whiny, conversation-less being.

So here's the flow that lifts us up and speckles our days with happiness, and here's the to the ebb that fills in the spaces between and challenges us. And here's to small miracles in the form of taxes that pay your bills.

Groundhog Day

The skies were blue outside my office window as I read that Phil the Groundhog did not see his shadow today. Clearly, with temperatures well below zero and snow burying half of the country, Spring is right around the corner. I love Groundhog Day, but not because of this furry harbinger of Spring. No, I love it because many years ago, I had an extraordinary run of good luck on Groundhog Day.

My family and I were playing games that night, Bingo and Parcheesi. I don't usually win games when I play with my family (oddly, I do much better when I'm playing with Tim's family), but that night, I couldn't lose. I won two games of Parcheesi and five games of Bingo, but what was more, I won by a lot. In one of the Parcheesi games, I somehow managed to move 60 spaces in one turn (I think I kept rolling doubles...You get to roll again if you roll doubles...maybe). During one of the Bingo games, I got multiple "bingo's" before anyone else had even one. It was amazing. So amazing, in fact, that I wrote about it in my journal that night. It was only then that I noticed the date--Groundhog Day.

I've always remembered that extraordinary streak of luck, and tonight, I decided to test it. "Hey Tim," I casually asked, "you wanna play a game?"

"Sure," Tim replied. "Which one did you have in mind?"

"Which one do you feel like losing?" I asked grinning. "How about Rummikub?"

For the uninitiated, Rummikub is played with number tiles that you play from your hand in sets or runs of threes. If you can't play on your turn, you have to draw a tile and the goal is to get rid of all your tiles.

We set up the game and began to play. It was the shortest game of Rummikub I have ever played, and I soundly beat Tim. I put down half my tiles at the start and every tile I drew made it possible to play another out of my hand. The most amazing part was that every time Tim played a wild, I had the exact tile I needed in my hand (or else I drew it on my next turn) to take the wild and play it elsewhere. It was incredible, the perfect game orchestrated by my Groundhog Day Luck.

"Yesss!!!" I raised my arms in the air, laughing in disbelief. "I won!"

Tim shook his head. "That was...wow."

High on my victory, I asked mischievously, "Wanna play again?"

We began setting up. I, in my childish triumph, was certain I would win again. Tim, in his wisdom and maturity, thought about being married to me and how that made us one person in many ways. The Luck, confused at this rational thought, wasn't sure what to do. The game progressed more slowly, each of us advancing by turns, until the Luck, persuaded by Tim's logical argument and superior tiles, gave him the win.

"Yesss!!!" He raised his arms in the air, and I laughed again in disbelief. "One more game?"

The Groundhog Day Luck decided what to do, and it was clear from the beginning that neither of us was going to win. We each picked up more tiles than we could play for a long time until we finally combined the tiles we had left and called it a tie. The Luck was satisfied, and I was too.

Maybe my Groundhog Day Luck has been used for the last time. Maybe it only appears when the groundhog doesn't see his shadow, or when it's particularly freezing outside. Maybe today was the only day I believed enough in my luck to win. Or maybe I was just lucky. Regardless, I have to say, I love Groundhog Day.