Health Care Reform

Yesterday I had the opportunity to introduce the keynote speaker at an ASU Lecture Series. Dr. Selvoy Fillerup has a long list of credentials leading to him to be the foremost expert on Healthcare programs around the globe. I have been associated with him and his efforts to reform the nations collapsing healthcare system for a few months now. It has been fascinating to learn about how not only our system but many other healthcare systems work and how we can effect change in our country. His passion is to be sure that all Americans have a minimum level of curative healthcare. He has developed a plan that is both accessible and solvent and is trying to lobby it into the right hands.

If you are interested in learning more you can view his website at www.chroniccrisis.com he has written a book by the same name that is very informative. I could also get, anyone who is interested, his position paper.

WHAT ONCE WAS LOST NOW IS FOUND... That's right I found my red shirt. Or should I say the CIA finally returned to my house inconspicuously... Now the only item left to return is my glasses.

President Hinckley and The Governor

This morning I had a meeting at the capitol with Governor Janet Napolitano. I have come to admire her over this past couple of years sitting on her Faith and Community Initiatives Council and more recently having more of these small meetings with her. I have come to know her on a more personal level and have found her to be an interesting combination of tough political savvy and kindness and compassion and sincere concern for others. This morning was a prime example as she expressed her condolences for the loss of President Hinckley. She shared with me how much she had enjoyed meeting President Hinckley a couple of years ago and then showed us a small bronze depicting the saints trek across the plains that President Hinckley had given her. It made me so thankful that her exposure to the Church and the Gospel was a wonderful and blessed experience. It has opened a lot of doors for the work I do here in our little East Valley.

I wonder how many other people in the world have had the same inroads built for them by our beloved President Hinckley. He was and always will be a symbol of all that is good in this world. I am thankful to have been alive in this era and to have been led by such a great prophet. I look forward to all the blessings we will have under the direction of President Monson and hope that he feels of the love and support of members all over the world as he takes on this grand new responsibility.

TRAVESHAMOCKERY!!!

The votes have been tallied and the winners declared… and I am appalled, so much so that I am boycotting the “big event”.

the 2008 NBA All-Star Starters are as follows:

EASTERN CONFERENCE: Center: Dwight Howard (Orlando)

Forward: Kevin Garnett (Boston), LeBron James (Cleveland)

Guard: Jason Kidd (New Jersey), Dwyane Wade (Miami)

WESTERN CONFERENCE: Center: Yao Ming (Houston)

Forward: Carmelo Anthony (Denver), Tim Duncan (San Antonio)

Guard: Kobe Bryant, (L.A. Lakers), Allen Iverson (Denver)

You may have noticed that Steve Nash is conspicuously absent from this list. Well we all know who the true all stars are. Keep up the great work SUNS!!!!

To fully express my dismay I will quote Charles Barkley in his sentiments toward this outcome. “My dogs know more abut basketball than the NBA fans placing these votes.”

Obama's Top Ten Campaign Promises:

For anyone who did not see this on Letterman last night, it was pretty funny. Obama actually read them himself from a remote location.

10. To keep the budget balanced, I’ll rent the Situation Room for sweet 16s.
9. I will double your tax money at the craps table.
8. Appoint Mitt Romney secretary of lookin’ good.
7. If you bring a gator to the White House, I’ll wrassle it.
6. I’ll put Regis on the nickel.
5. I’ll rename the 10th month of the year “Barack-tober.”
4. I won’t let Apple release the new and improved iPod the day after you bought the previous model.
3. I’ll find money in the budget to buy Letterman a decent hairpiece.
2. Pronounce the word nuclear, nuclear.
1. Three words: Vice President Oprah.

My favorite is renting the situation room out for sweet 16 parties. I wonder if he would do it for sassy 37 parties? It is nice to know Mitt will have a place in the White House even if Obama is elected. I doubt he would get the same appointment from Hillary.

No one can take your place...

I was doing a lot of research last night for a workshop I am presenting in February and found a quote in a book I read a few years ago. The book is "No One Can Take your Place" by Sheri Dew. The quote is as such: "No one can have the influence you have been prepared to have on all who come within your sphere of influence. Without question, no one can fulfill your foreordained mission. No one can do what you were sent here to do. No One."

As read the quote I thought about all the times I have passed up opportunities out of fear or complacency. These reminded me that I have a lot more to fear by not taking those "scary" chances. How many times have I felt inspired about something and then set it aside because I was afraid of how it would be received. Those inspirations come to us for a purpose. I cannot ever remember a time when someone has given me a gift that I just set aside an left unopened; thinking well I can get to that later or I am afraid someone might think I am crazy for opening that gift. Nope, rather I instantly return to my giddy girlhood when I get a gift. I get so excited and cannot wait to see what is inside and even the smallest gifts are delightful and bring me so much joy. Why then when Heavenly Father gives me a gift would I set it aside and put off the opening to "someday". We are reminded in In Matt. 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

I have decided I don't want another day to pass that I would not use the gifts with which I have been blessed to fulfill my mission here. I am going to face any fear I have of failure or success and do all that I can to make a difference in the lives of others. Fearing nothing but that I might miss something along the way.

If we can let go of our fears and live everyday to the fullest then how can we possibly lose? We may very well experience failure at times but we will still gain in the process.

I am thankful everyday for the influence of friends and family in my life. I have been so greatly blessed with a sphere of influence that has cut deep into my soul. The Lord has placed so many outstanding people an No one could take your place in my life! I hope you will all continue to challenge and stretch me to become more, and to fulfill my destiny...

A little shout out...

A couple of nights ago I was talking to my good friend Tom Kotter and he inferred he was a little hurt that he had not been mentioned in my Blog. I assure you Kotter, it is an oversight and I hope this will make up for any hurt it may have caused you to be left out this long.

Tom Kotter is a fantastic human being! I have never had a conversation with him in which we were not laughing hysterically at point. But don't let the comedy routine fool you, he is one super smart guy!!! Tom has it all, he is good looking, fun, smart and has a tender heart. He will always have a place in my heart for helping me put Christi's birthday party together when I was so sick I could hardly walk. Tom is also a great traveling partner, and a great skier. He can even ski backwards... :) (inside joke) He also has great taste in music and can quote the office like no one else, except maybe Christi. I wish I could post his smiling face but I realized that I do not have one single photo of him.

And finally to honor Kotter in the best way I know how an quote I he could have penned "The people I respect? Heroes of mine would be Bob Hope, um Abraham Lincoln, definitely Bono, and probably god would be the fourth one. And I think all those people really helped the world in so many ways that it's really beyond word. It's really incalculable." Michael Scott

Except I think Kotter would have listed Bono first!

And ladies he is SINGLE!!! So, all the "good ones" are not gone!

One additional note for all of you "Office" fans; last night I got the schedule for the city league Volleyball team I am playing on and realized the name of our team was Shrute Farms!!! :)

Trekkie wisdom

Nothing like a little Star Trek inspiration. I have translated them from Klingon for the general public but have attached a link to the Klingon language institute for those interested in "higher" learning... http://www.kli.org/ LOL! I about died laughing when I saw this sight.

I can sleep when I'm dead...

Literally, I guess. I found this interesting article about a technology still in developmental stages called a sleep cap. The cap uses transcranial magnetic stimulation or what we in the business call TMS. Apparently this can simulate deep sleep allowing the brain to recharge in a single use. I am already thinking about how much more I could accomplish in a day if I did not have to sleep. http://www.livescience.com/technology/070509_nap_device.html Pretty cool!

Did anyone else share in my elation last night as the Suns handily put the Lakers away? Nothing makes me happier than a good Suns game, especially when they beat the Lakers!

Self-Empowerment!

My dear friend Dr. Liz Hale is a psychologist in Salt Lake City. Among the many wonderful things she participates in; she does a segment on KSL TV in Salt Lake about common human experiences. I found an article on her website about self-sabotage http://http//www.drlizhale.com/?p=95#more-95 that I loved. Please follow the link to read the full article but I have attached an excerpt as a teaser:
"A warning about counting your flaws: Thinking that we have flaws buys us into the idea of deep unworthiness because a flaw is intrinsic, thus leaving us with the beliefs that we can’t change. Believing we are flawed perpetuates the whole self-sabotage belief pattern. Do we have weaknesses? Yes! Just enough to keep us humble and working in the right direction. Let’s just have fun with words - trust the research that shows they’re powerful and change flaws to “Growth opportunities.”
I thought this article was a great inspiration for how to start this year in a positive way, transitioning from victim and blame and why? to acceptance, empowerment and HOW! How can I become whatever it is I am meant to become?

What religion should you be?

I accidentally stumbled upon this quiz to determine your religion. Mormon was number three for me (but still 98%)... not sure what did wrong but I hope I can study some more and retake it sometime before the millennium. Hopefully the Lord graduated from Yale or as I like to call it; Kumbaya U.
Check it out!
http://www.selectsmart.com/RELIGION/

Conspiracy Theory

After two weeks of searching I finally found my day planner. Whew… I was lost without that thing. It is so frustrating to have something in your hand one moment and the next it is gone. This is not the only thing missing either. First my glasses disappeared, then my red New Years Eve shirt and then my day planner. I have searched and searched and searched for these items. I do not have hiding places in my house. There are no junk drawers and junk rooms or other places where things might migrate never to be seen again. My house is transparent! Therefore I think it is pretty obvious what is going on here… CIA operatives are apparently confiscating my possessions. Now I can see that my day planner would be of interest and they must have seen me in that red blouse and decided it could be a threat to national security but why do they need my glasses? Maybe they thought my glasses doubled as a secret recording device for covert missions???? Whatever the thinking I would sure appreciate their return. I DO really appreciate getting my planner back. If anyone has any ideas about my glasses or blouse please let me know. It is very flattering, CIA, NSA whoever you are that you would be interested in my things and would think I am privy to national secrets or something but, I am not and I would really like to wear that blouse at the celebration of the opening of the legislative session on Thursday night. So please return my things!!!! :)

This past couple of days have been a little crazy. Everything at work is very hectic and I have several other things going on right now as well, then my car broke down again so trying to juggle vehicles etc. is really fun. (Thanks Del for loaning me your truck for the day, you are a lifesaver!!!) So this morning to add to all of this, I find out that there was a transmission problem with our payroll over the weekend and although it said it was received it was not!!! Now I have angry employees calling because they did not get their direct deposits last night. YIKES!!!!

This next item will only be meaningful to a few of you but I had to tell those of you who will get a kick out of it; while I was hiking this Saturday I ran into Casen Rohner on the trail and he was wearing his “oxygen tank”….

FYI the Suns will be playing the LA Clippers tonight at 7:30. Go Suns!!!

Weekend Tragedy

I am sad to say that my nephew Bryce broke his collar bone doing a jump on his snowboard this weekend. We are really disappointed because we had some really fun ski days planned and his season is now over. Apparently, he has to abstain from any activity for 6 to 8 weeks and then be very cautious after that. He just got a new snowboard for Christmas and was just getting used to it. Don't worry bud we will find some other fun things to do that only require one arm...

I guess this may be good news for his school work. His mom has been a little frustrated with him about not putting forth enough effort in school lately. So this should free up a lot of time for study! :) And I am sure he will be getting a lot of attention from the girls, which he seems to be appreciating these days. How do they grow up so fast????

GET WELL SOON, BUD!!!!

Word of Wisdom in 30 Rock?

Last night I was waiting for Detroit to finish off those filthy Spurs so I could watch the Suns play and I caught a bit of the 30 Rock episode. I thought I would die when Kenneth the page pleads with Tracey Jordan to get the new coffee off his desk. Tracey suggests it is a blessing since he (Kenneth) can now have coffee anytime he wants to. Kenneth vehemently declares “ I do not drink coffee! I do not drink any hot liquids, that is the devil’s temperature.” That show is Comic Genius!!!

So I have already had to defend the honor of our beloved Phoenix Suns a few times this morning. I would just like to say that win or lose I am still their biggest fan! We need to get those boys well so we can be whole again! For Christi, I might add that her boy Marion looked pretty cute on the bench last night… there is always a silver lining. J

This morning I had the opportunity to offer a prayer at the Capitol in preparation for the new legislative session. I was reminded what a privilege it is too live in a country where we can freely express our beliefs and offer prayer anytime anywhere without fear of punishment or persecution. Even the most ignorant and abusive forms of bigotry and intolerance of beliefs are miniscule compared to what most of the rest of the world is subject. I was listening to a correspondent for the New York Times yesterday, discuss the changes in Iraq and as she was telling of the oppression of the Iraqi’s, especially Shiites, under Hussein’s regime I was overwhelmed with gratitude for our freedom. Although we have our struggles, this is still the greatest country in the world!

Ultimate Stress Releif

"There are times when you are fearful, when the stress and busyness of life seem to overwhelm you, when you feel adrift from the Spirit. Perhaps you even feel as though you have been abandoned. When I encounter those feelings, the best antidote is my memory of the moments when Christ's peace has come to strengthen me. . . . I invite you to remember with me what it is to feel the Lord's love in your life and to feel encircled in His arms."
Topics: peace, Jesus Christ, love

(Kathleen H. Hughes, "Remembering the Lord's Love," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 111)

I saw this quote by Kathleen Hughes this morning and it caused me to remember how blessed I have been in my life with The Lord’s peace. The “…peace that passeth all understanding…” as the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:7. So many times in my life I have not understood but have been reassured by the knowledge that all things are in the Lord’s hands and He will lead me in the best path if I will allow him to. I just have to remember to allow my faith to pick up where my understanding leaves off.

I often feel overwhelmed by the abundance God has blessed me with: A wonderful loving and supportive family who brings me more joy than anything else I can think of in this life. I am blessed with friends that lead and inspire me daily by their example. Many times I have thought about the many people I have had association with and wonder how one person could be so lucky to have so many amazing people in her life. I am so thankful for good health and prosperity. I have never been TRULY hungry in my life and have always had every temporal necessity met and so much more. I am exceptionally blessed to work for and with men and women of integrity and honesty and charity. And living in this prosperous and free country is something for which we should all be thankful!

Life gets so crazy sometimes that I forget how simple things are. I was listening to our new primary music this past week and thinking about the simple truths that make our lives meaningful. Our theme this year is “I am a Child of God”. No matter how crazy the world around us gets we can always rely on this fact that we are a child of God. And what else really matters? If we took this to heart we could eliminate all of this overwhelming insecurity, over-indulgence, stress, fear, and so many more societal ailments. If we could focus our minds on who we really are and not who society thinks we ought to be then negative body image and eating disorders would disappear and so would fashion magazines and “America’s Next Top Model” (not a fan).
I noticed my friend Christi had posted one of my favorite quotes on her blog the other day. It is from Marianne Williamson’s book “Return to Love”( which is one of my all time favorites books). “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. “
Although I am not a Hillary Clinton supporter, I really liked something she said in he speech after the New Hampshire primary results were in. “ This campaign about people, about making a difference in your lives, about making sure that everyone in this country has the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential. That has been the work of my life.”
What if each of our “campaign” was about people, about making a difference and making sure that we as well everyone we know feels inspired to live up to our God given potential?”


Oh and One more thing... GO SUNS!!!! I want to send a big fat GET WELL to Grant Hill who has become one of my favorite players of all time (don't worry Steve you are still my MVP).

Tax Updates

Yesterday, my friend and co-worker, John Hartman, was sitting in my office visiting with me,(while I continued to work diligently) and he suddenly stopped talking and gasped with excitement while looking through the mail. I took pause and noticed that he looked like a giddy school girl. Somehow I instinctively knew he must have received the new 2008 Tax Guide in the mail. He is our CFO, by the way. He was so anxious to start reading this tantalizing literary work that he just got up and went back to his office and started flipping pages. It must be nice to be so easily amused.

This past Saturday I went hiking in the Superstition Mountains. I hike the Siphon Draw trail up to a place called Flat Iron. Although this is one of the toughest hikes in the valley it is one of my favorites. The harder you work for something the more you appreciate it, right?

While I was on the trail I met these two guys visiting from Tennessee. They were really fun and we ended hiking together the rest of the day. They began telling me about some of the adventures they had been on and some of the extreme activities they enjoyed. One of them, Steven, told me about something he wanted to try that was like flying. You start by base jumping off a cliff or out of a helicopter etc. while wearing this contraption called a squirrel suit and a parachute. I found a video on You Tube of some guys doing this and it was pretty crazy. I thought some of you might enjoy seeing it so I attached the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttz5oPpF1Js
I fear if my nephews ever see this, they will be talking me into taking them to New Zealand for our next vacation... I can see the headline in The New Zealand news "Woman's Heart Explodes In Mid Air".

Most Inspiring People of 2007

Many friends and family members have provided me unlimited amounts of inspiration throughout this past year but there are two people in particular who have demonstrated great courage and strength in the most difficult circumstances. Watching the way they have dealt with their own struggles has welled up in me a great deal of respect and a desire to emulate the qualities of these phenomenal women.

The first is my very dear friend Grace Snidow. Grace has been a very special part of my life since I was about 12 years old when she and her then husband Steve moved near my family in Jarales, NM. Grace has an infectious personality. She is one of those people you feel like you've always known the very first time you meet her. Her sense of humor used to keep us in stitches and she has a way of telling stories that was like a front row ticket to the theatre. I don't see or talk to Grace that often anymore but when I do it is always just like old times. Just the thought of her puts a smile on my face and she always makes me laugh!

Laughing is one of the things that inspired me most about Grace this year. She was diagnosed early last year with a very progressive cancer and went through just about every treatment and surgery to fight it. It was an uphill battle, but she won! ( She is nothing if not a fighter, this is a girl that fouled out of every high school basketball game she ever played. I never had any doubt she would beat this thing... ) My mom kept me updated on her progress this summer and told me that she had been really sick and exhausted from the chemo therapy treatments. One day I was thinking about my Gracie and decided to call and tell her how much I loved her. I expected to have a short conversation and not keep her too long, knowing she would probably not be up for a lot of visiting. I could not believe it when we ended a long conversation and I was still laughing and smiling for hours afterward. Even in the most difficult circumstances Grace still had her sense of humor and was still the same positive cheerful wonderful woman I had always known! She never uttered a negative word when she had every right to do so. Not once did I feel sorry for her during that conversation.; I could feel her magnificence as a person more than ever. When I finished my conversation with her I recognized the insignificance of my own "problems" and felt ashamed for thinking I had any problems at all. She showed an unbelievable amount of strength and courage in the greatest adversity.

Grace you inspired me then and you inspire me now! Thanks for being such a significant part of my life all these years!

Another friend who has greatly inspired me this past year is Jayne Cluff. When Jayne found out she was pregnant last spring it was bitter sweet. She was getting the baby she and her husband had been praying for and then some... four babies to be exact! For seven months Jayne courageously carried these four little angels and it was not easy. She had to eat constantly to try and gain enough weight to sustain all four babies and stay relatively inactive and eventually completely inactive. Now this might sound great to a lot of us but after seven months of it you can imagine how maddening it would be. Pretty soon there is no food that sounds appetizing and there are only so many movies a person can watch or books you can read. As I recall one of the count down methods was to see the Suns through the playoffs until the blasted Spurs knocked us out!

Jayne had to spend the last three of those months in the hospital on absolute complete bed rest. If you think it would be bad to be confined in your own home try residing in a tiny hospital room for three months! She and Jeremiah had a calendar on the wall that was marked with different dates of progress for the babies. She was trying to carry them to 32 weeks to get the absolute most development for them possible. She had them at 30 weeks and all were exceptionally strong and healthy. So much so that the team of doctors and nurses working with them were surprised at how quickly these little ones got to go home. I know that it was all because their Mom loved them so much that she sacrificed everything, even her own sanity at times to make sure they got everything they needed while she was carrying them.

Those sacrifices have not stopped either. Addison, Weston, Brynlee and Cambria are as happy, healthy and strong as any babies you have ever seen. Jayne is the most organized and energetic Mom and she devotes every second of every day to these beautiful babies and it shows.

I don't want to leave out that she has a phenomenal husband who was there encouraging her every step of the way and also devotes all of his time to his family. I think Jayne would say is her inspiration. They make the perfect parents for these four precious gifts from Heavenly Father!

Jayne, none of could ever really know what a struggle this past year was for you but then again we will also never know the absolute joy of mothering these four perfect angels. Thanks for your inspiring everyone who knows you!

I have drawn a tremendous amount of insight from these two amazing women! This year, I hope to apply what I have learned from them and exercise just a small particle of the faith and strength they have shared with me and so many others this year.

A new year, a new blog...

Yes, I am finally joining the ranks of my many blogging friends! The blogs of so many have entertained and inspired me this year and I decided to jump in the game. The final convincing statement was given by my friend Christi who said it was a great way to stay in touch with friends she did not generally, otherwise, communicate with. I have so many friends from far and wide that I rarely get to talk to or hear from and I hope this will be a way to have some connection with them, as well as all of the usual suspects.

The main reason I have not started a blog before is that I assumed people probably had better things to do than to read about the boring goings on in my life... So, I decided to make this a journal of inspiration for myself and hope that anyone who happens to read it will also find something inspiring.

As I have contemplated year that has passed and pondered on how to make this next year even better than last I decided this was going to be a year of transformation. Last year provided a lot of lessons and growth. I hope to take some of what I have learned over the past year and put it to use inspiring transformation in my life this year. In that spirit I want to share with you some of the people, places, books, quotes, actions etc. that have inspired change for me.

I hope this will be a fantastic year for each of us! May we use these next 359 days to bring joy into the lives of others and in turn our own lives!