Service with a Smile

Nu Skin is such a great company and they do a lot to help those in need. Every Wednesday Nu Skin employees volunteer their time to serve lunch at the local food and care coalition. I got the chance to go yesterday and it was a very interesting experience.

I purposely put on a nicer "casual day" outfit in the morning because I had to do a presentation during an afternoon meeting. So I walk in and the first thing the guy running the show says to me is "nice True Religion jeans". UGH! I felt like a snob and honestly I wasn't thinking about it when I got dressed in the morning. Then when I went out to set up tables a lady said something to me about my beautiful jewelry - again I felt bad about not just wearing jeans a t-shirt and my hair in a pony tail. Of course that's not how I dress when I go to work so it wasn't really something I thought of. Rather than serve the food I chose to stay in the kitchen and do prep, making the trays and clean up. Can you believe how big the pot of sloppy joe meat is? (yes, I sang the Adam Sandler sloppy joe song in my head the entire time)

During the meal someone I know came in for lunch and I thought about how glad I was in the kitchen so she wouldn't have to see me. For some reason rather than go out there to say hello (not that we are great friends...she was actually rather offensive to me on a few different occasions but that doesn't matter) I thought she would rather not have someone know she was here having a meal. I guess I felt this way because if it was me I would be embarrassed and wouldn't want someone to see me but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't show my friendship to her. I feel bad that I didn't make an effort to say something. I suck in situations like that!

I was really impressed with how well everything was run. They give everyone a great meal - the same thing for everyone. They make a huge effort not to have anything wasted and the people who worked there showed so much love for those in need. It was a great experience and I'm glad I had the chance to give a little of my time to those around me in need.

An Eventful Weekend

Todd planned a big Schultz Family "fathers and sons" camp out for this weekend. He researched and found a good spot that wasn't too close or too far away (Coldcreek Campground). Todd planned and planned figuring out who was coming what meals and activities. He made about 4 trips to Wal-Mart in one day trying to get everything ready and perfect. He took enough food to feed an army (seriously....way too much food). Todd took both boys, my dad, Mark, Steve and his boys, and David all went up together.

However, he forgot to bring the boys sleeping bags, blankets and pillows....oops! Friday was the coldest night we've had in months and they all froze and didn't get a lot of sleep. Which meant they came home Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday (which I was very happy about). I asked Mark afterwards why he didn't let the boys use his sleeping bag and he said "I slept with a table cloth cause I forgot mine too". So classic.

Luke and Tayson showing off a sweet rock they found (and brought home)

Todd told the boys to smile again - but instead Tayson gave Luke a noogie (sp?)

Steve and Ryan. Isn't that a beautiful campsite?

Meanwhile....Timmy, the girls and I were at home so we decided to go shopping. Timmy cut his hair as a deal to get to go clothes shopping for some work clothes so we headed up to Nordstrom Rack for the afternoon. We got lots of great deals and he got 3 shirts, 2 pair of pants, and 2 pair of shoes for less than $300 (not bad). While we were there Claire had to use the bathroom and I almost cried when I saw how constipated she has been. Not to get too graphic but honestly my sweet tiny little girl has bigger poop than she is. It is so sad and it breaks my heart. Then like 15 minutes later Timmy says "I think Sophie is poopy" and I went to grab her to go change her and we see that it was a massive blow out ... all over of her clothes .... all over Timmy's arm .... so nasty. So I ran to change her and took off her clothes so she finished shopping in a bow, diaper and pink shoes. It was hilarious.

The Grocery Store

I had to make a quick stop at the grocery store on my way home from work and several things drove me crazy. I have a lot of pet peeves and I try very hard to let people be who they are and try not to judge but honestly some things are just common courtesy.

So here are a few things that really annoy me at the store:

1. People who leave their empty carts in the parking lot. It's just not that hard to put it back. You don't have to go back into the store but putting it in an empty parking spot is just uncalled for. I saw a young college aged fella do this yesterday and I almost said something to him - there was no reason for him not to walk 50 feet and return it but instead he put it in a prime parking spot. UGH.
   
2. People who leave their carts right in the middle of the aisle while they look at every single price point of an item. I don't care how long you stare at the tomato sauce but don't block the entire aisle so that I either have to run into your cart on accident or wait 10 years for you to make up your mind. Yes someone was doing this yesterday at the store. Her cart was at an angle and was honestly taking up so much room I had to move her cart to get past it and she didn't even say sorry or move her cart. ANNOYING.
3. Talking on your speakerphone. Seriously I don't need to hear your conversation or what you should be buying at the store. There was a BYU couple at the store yesterday walking (slowing strolling at best) through the store holding hands and taking up more than their fair share of room in the aisles chatting it up on the speakerphone. REALLY?
4. People with kids at the store who are yelling, crying, throwing the food out of the cart onto the floor, adding extra food to the cart and still getting a treat at the checkout. OH WAIT I don't hate that .... that's me at the store.

I'm so glad I got that off my chest. It was really driving me bonkers.

Happy Birthday Danny

Back as far as my memory goes Danny has been one of my very best friends. We are 2 years apart (he's younger) and pretty much did everything together our entire lives. He got me into trouble all the time when we were kids making me skip school and do things like play apple baseball. Pretty much every one of my friends from elementary school into college had a crush on him. I swear most of my friends growing up would have sleepovers so they could try to sneak into Danny's room. He is such an amazing person and really can do it all. It's nice to have such a stud for a brother to keep me on my toes.

A funny story about Danny: When he left on his mission one of our friends told me a story about how 2 years earlier he was driving my jeep and he went off the road into the ditch and turned it on it's side in the snow. Luckily there were enough big strong guys to get it out and he made them all swear not to tell me until he was on his mission. I laughed so hard when I found out. Like I could ever be mad at Danny.

I love this picture of Danny with my parents.

My dad trying to be taller than him is such a classic Schultz boy move.

I'm a day late posting....I've been busy

Book Review - Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

I finished this book last night. It was quite a bit different than the other 2 books I've read by Jodi Picoult (My Sister's Keeper and 19 Minutes). It didn't seem to be quite as controversial. I really liked the main character (Cassie). It was a lot of character development and relationships with a good plot and good ending. The biggest issue I had with this book was the language.

More Blogging

I spent a lot of time the last few weeks organizing and finishing my 2008 blog book. I am so excited to get it...it's on order! When I was going through all of my posts I realized how much more I blogged last year than this year. I wrote down lots of simple things and made it a point to write down all the small things that matter to me. I am committed to blog more so that this years journal has just as many memories. I can't wait to get my book. My kids are going to love it. They love reading my blog and hearing fun stories about themselves.

Peace and Quiet

On Friday afternoon Todd and his mom took the kids out on the boat while Sophie was napping so I stayed home for some peace and quiet. They were gone for about 3 hours. I put on my iPod and cleaned the entire house and then when Sophie woke up we ran a few errands. Then on Saturday Todd and his mom took all the kids to the fish store while Sophie was napping so once again I volunteered to stay home with her. I opted to finish the last 2 loads of laundry, do the dishes and finally read my book for a few minutes.

The funny part is that even though I didn't nap or rest really it was so great to have the house to myself to get everything done I wanted to. It was nice to not have to find extra time on Saturday to clean when I would rather be spending time as a family. I love having a clean house and I don't mind cleaning it especially when I can rock out to some music and not worry about what my kids are doing or trying to keep them busy with chores of their own. I think it's fun when we all clean the house together (it takes twice as long but it's fun to watch the kids clean) but it was so nice to just be alone doing simple tasks thinking and enjoying time to myself.