The Place I Go

Call me "Molly Mormon" but one of my favorite things to do is go to the temple. It is a place for me to sit and relax and shut out the cares of the world. No cell phone or email or bosses or clients or coworkers -- just me and my thoughts and the Spirit.

A couple of years ago I typed up a list of all the temples of the world and I began recording the date I first performed ordinance work in each temple that I've been to. Last night I pulled out my list in preparation to go to the Rexburg Temple this weekend and I realized that I have way too many blank spaces.

So, I've set a new goal: Add at least two new dates to my temple list every year. This goal shouldn't be too hard. There are three never-before-visited temples not even an hour drive from my house currently in operation and another two under construction. Temples in southern Utah and Idaho are a perfect weekend getaway. And I've been wanting to fly down to San Diego, pick up a rental car, and start driving north through California hitting all seven temples along the way for a long time.

Have no fear! I will accomplish my goal and really start filling up that list! The way the Church builds temples I know I'll probably never get to most of them but that won't keep me from trying.

Other little ditties:
* I received my endowment before my mission in the Bountiful Utah Temple.
* My favorite temple so far is the Manhattan New York Temple.
* I have been outside the doors of the Oakland, San Diego, and Chicago Temples but never inside.
* I want to marry my sweetheart in the Salt Lake Temple, following the tradition of my parents and both sets of grandparents.
* I always try to vacation near a temple and go to a session while I am there.

Trauma and Drama, All in a Day's Work

Work today was very traumatic for me. Bear with me as I delineate the issues of the day...




* I was at work for 11 hours and downtown for a total of 13 -- remember that I don't get any overtime.





* I had a meeting in the Church Office Building this morning. It began and all was well but as soon as I arrived at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for my next meeting I received a phone call -- There is a drilling noise; come make it stop! I immediately picked up the phone trying to find the responsible party as I literally ran back to the COB. Of course, by the time I arrived the noise had stopped and the client was happy.

* The Devereaux House was the site of my third meeting of the day, this one with my manager and our director. I arrived to find that nothing was set up and ready for the luncheon. Thankfully, the early-arrivers were more than willing to put things together at the very last minute. Next I went to close the front doors to keep out the rain. I wasn't paying attention as I walked away and suddenly my right index finger caught in the door as it closed. All I could think about was the little girl in my parents' ward who recently had part of her finger cut off by a door. I carefully pulled myself free and luckily have only suffered a bruise and some swelling.

* Because I knew my day would be long I planned to take a break and go to the temple for the 2:00 session. Just before leaving, a phone call to a client revealed that the meeting they had scheduled for next week was accidentally scheduled for May and now the rooms they need are not available. It took a couple more phone calls, negotiating with the scheduler, and a lot of finagling but I finally took care of the problem and missed my session. (Don't worry, I still made it to the 3:00 session.)

* This evening I had to watch over the Temple Square Performances concert: the Wasatch Trio of piano, cello, and flute. I wasn't too happy to find out that I needed to stay in the Assembly Hall throughout the concert to help move chairs and music stands but it's all part of the job. Then three minutes before show time the pianist was in a panic because his page turner hadn't arrived. The Performances Hosts asked if I could read music and suddenly I had a new job. I spent the whole concert on stage turning pages at the piano. It went well but it really is traumatic being on stage when you don't expect or want to be there and you're not dressed properly.

Happily, I survived the day but my finger still hurts and it has a red mark where the door pinched it--all unexpected hazards of event coordinating. Next Friday I am only working a half-day and I say that I more than deserve it after today. I can't wait!

A Pretty Good Day

It's not often that a single woman of my age can say that February 14th is a good day but I do have to admit that my Valentine's Day yesterday was pretty good.

At 8:00 a.m. I found myself rushing through the tunnels under Temple Square to check on a meeting in the Church Office Building, only to arrive and find that the meeting had been cancelled. It was okay though because along the way I passed by Elders David A. Bednar, L. Tom Perry, and Quentin L. Cook who I'm sure were all running a bit late for an 8:00 meeting in the temple with President Monson. As I passed by each of them they smiled and nodded a Good Morning to me. That was pretty cool!

At 12:30 p.m. a big meeting in the Theater finished up and the sister I have been working with took me aside and introduced me to James, a very cute, very available Infrastructure Architect and Engineer with the Family Church History Department. We had a nice little chat and then he said he would email. That was a pretty great ten minutes!

At 1:30 p.m. my coworker Heidi took me to her husband's cafe for lunch. He served up a pot roast sandwich and fries. That was a pretty tasty lunch!

At 3:00 p.m. I left work for the day and went to Costco to pick up some things for upcoming activities. It is always more than pretty wonderful to leave work early!

At 4:00 p.m. I arrived at home and had a long-stem red rose waiting for me on the table. The note said, "Happy Valentine's Day!" and wasn't signed but I have an idea who sent it. That was a pretty (literally) surprise!

At 5:30 p.m. began my Valentine's Day date with Sebastian. I dressed up in my formal dress (for the first time), we went to the Utah Symphony where they played Grieg's Piano Concerto, then we had an Italian dinner by candlelight. That was a pretty fun date!

At 10:30 p.m. back at home my cute mother had left me a little box of chocolates and my favorite trail mix snack. That was a pretty sweet treat!

Overall, my Valentine's Day was a pretty good day, filled with all the things a girl loves (cute men, flowers, chocolate, piano concertos, and Costco)!