My work life, July 22, 2010

So yesterday was a sad day. I arrived at work to find out that the head football coach at Cottonwood High school had died suddenly. I am on the district crisis team, so I am always on call in such situations.

Today, a voice message from a DCFS worker asking what to for school for a student going into eight grade this school year who had a baby in May. Another voice message was from the Salt Lake Detention Center, a worker needed to know how many credits a would be senior had toward graduation. When I called to report only .25 credits with an enrollment summary of attending only 9th grade, I couldn't help but think about these young people in so many different ways. I hope that the DCFS worker will find a good placement for a very young mom who needs support, motivation, and courage to move forward. I hope that the detention center will somehow have a positive impact on a young man who has pretty much nothing to show that he is progressing and moving along in his life.

One good thing, however, was a call from a young man who wasn't sure if he had graduated or not in 2009. He didn't finish graduation requirements on time, but he did take summer school classes last summer. However, he said he missed the last day of summer school, went the following day to get his diploma, and no one was at the school to give it to him. Fast forward to July 2009, he has a chance to work at FedEx if he can show proof of graduation. He had called the school but got the run around. I did some quick research (he had in fact completed everything for graduation) and then I called the school. I got some hesitation from the office staff about whether or not he could have his diploma, which was there at the school, without counselor clearance. Arrgggggg . . . Even counselors have telephones -- isn't graduation important enough to call someone at home? I emphatically asked the office staff person to get the diploma ready to present to the student -- I would call him and send him on his way. I asked the student to call me when he had the diploma in his hands -- he did -- and I gave him the "Yippee! Congratulations! Go celebrate!"

My work life . . . .

My home life -- my son was a door to door salesman this afternoon. With backpack and a sales pitch, he went off to sell Hunter Football Gold Cards (discount cards for a fundraiser). He canvassed half the neighborhood and sold 6-7 of the twenty he has. He is a good boy. He also went to summer seminary this morning. I must admit that I was not a seminary attender, nor were Karl, Annie, or Haley. I have been puzzeled all summer about his willingness to attend until one day Maddie Hunt's mom gave him a ride home. It then hit me -- GIRLS.

Summer is Slipping Away

It's July 12th, my sister Jackie's birthday.

One month from today is my nephew's wedding.

Football camp is now an all day thing and the first game is in a month.

Summer is slipping away and my "to do" list has more "to do" than "done".

I've been meaning to update my blog about our trip to Boston.

Maybe I can do a little every day.
A highlight was a whale watching adventure through the New England Aquarium. We took a boat ride about 30 miles out from Boston Harbor to a marine sanctuary where humpback and fin whales feed during the summer. It was absolutely amazing. We saw probably two dozen "blows" and a dozen or so actual whale sitings. Above is a nice picture of Willie -- we sat at the back of the boat on the upper deck. The weather was delightful, the trip was a little over three hours. I love the ocean, boats, sun, and everything. The other photo is a boat similar to the one we were on.

Boston, MA on the 4th of July Weekend

I have had some amazing opportunities with my world of work -- this year's ASCA conference is in Boston, MA, July 3-6. So, Willie and Karl came along with me. We came a day early to enjoy some of the sites before I am off to the conference sessions.

A full report will come later, but for now, a few photos.

Last day of the month --

June 30, 2010 -- it's my sister's birthday, and I think she is 52. Happy Birthday, Chris!

This month marked:
End of 9th grade for Willie
Flowers growing
Baby blessings and family parties for Cole and Molly
Mission call for nephew, Eddie -- Samoa
Shavy Jones -- work for the kids
Father's Day
Nephew in France -- study abroad in Tours
Brother-in-law in Burgess Hill, England -- work related
High school basketball games (Orem and Grantsville)
Basketball Camp -- Willie @ U fo U
Senior Sisters Brunch -- Stake Relief Society event
Cindy's presentation at her stake's women's conference
Yard work -- my house and mom and dad's house
Summer Seminary -- Hunter High
Football practice -- weights and running
Karl's school, project, and more -- SLCC
Shopping with Mom, Haley, Molly, and Parker
School year wrap-up -- my work
Family visits -- from kids, grandkids, sister, nieces and nephews
Niece in "Annie" -- Hannah
Lunch with former work friends -- Daveen and Toni
Visiting teaching and home teaching
Scuba test -- written test but no results yet and dive test
And, probaby a lot more --

What can I say, I love basketball!

So yesterday was the first day of Jimmy Ball -- U of U basketball camp. This is Willie's 4th and probably last year as a day camper (next year, he will be at a "team" camp somewhere). Jim Boylen, U of U basketball coach, is quite a character and a pretty good teacher. His routine with the kids includes a word of the day ( like enthusiasm or attitude) and usually a phrase of the day (like listen to learn and learn to listen). Willie, however, has decided on his own words of the day -- yesterday was dominate and today is annihilate. You see, the older the age group the fewer number of b-ball campers, and Willie really does have some sweet basketball skills, and I think he can see the difference in his skills when he gets away from all of the kids he usually plays with. He is well on his way to a championship somewhere, sometime, in the not too distant future. He is goal oriented and competitive -- actually, he just about had his first championship last school year with junior high basketball -- but, it was not to be.

As I have mentioned many times, Willie is a good boy and his dad and I are very proud of him! I am happy he loves the basketball because I do, too. I love to watch him play -- using his sweet skills and making some pretty good shots. Yesterday morning during shoot around on the Huntsman Center court, he was making shots like crazy -- even the long shots. What can I say, I love basketball!

Life is all about relationships . . .

The Martinez family is moving to San Antonio, TX, where there son and daughter-in-law and their grandchildren live. That means Sylvia, Alex, and Grandpa are moving. They were all at church this afternoon -- including their family from Texas.

Sylvia is just about the most beautiful and dearest woman I know. She works at the Salt Lake Temple office. She doesn't drive so she catches the bus. The bus stops have moved over the years from just down the street to 4 and a half blocks away. On a few occasions, I have given Sylvia a ride to the TRAX station on 21st South rather than see her wait for the bus. Her father (I call Grandpa) who is close to 90 years is also a very kind and dear. A few years back when I was the RSP, Grandpa felt like he was a burden on Sylvia and her family. He asked our Bishop if he could have a food order thinking that would take some pressure off Sylvia and her family. Grandpa came over to my house where I had my son-in-law, Ross, or Bro. Chacun help translate the food order process. Our brief little meetings always concluded with Grandpa giving me a kiss on the cheek and whispering "I love you sister," in my ear.

Well today was probably the last time for the Martinez family to be in our church meetings. They are packing up and heading to San Antonio at the end of the week. I spoke with Sylvia only briefly at the end of sacrament meeting and she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. We left the chapel and headed down the hallway to head for home when I turned to see Grandpa coming toward me. He gave me a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and in his very broken Engligh told me that he loved me and and thanked me for helping him in my home. It felt nice and warm to feel his appreciation and the sweet spirit of his soul. It was a testimony unlike anything that can be learned through a speech or a church lesson -- it was a connection of one spirit to another. And in my opinion, that's what life is all about -- relationships -- built by service and love and caring and kindness to make something better for someone else and be appreciated in the most genuine way.

I will miss the sweet feelings I get when I see Sylvia and Grandpa -- they will always be very special to me --

June 13, 2010 and all is well . . .

One week of summer vacation is now history. It was a crazy and somewhat stressful week at the office (no further comment).

Willie had a pretty good summer vacation so far -- Lagoon Day wrapped up the school year; scuba diving test #1; the first person to jump into Grandma's pool (60 degrees); football weight lifting and a day of basketball at the rec center; an afternoon with the Woods and Shavy Jones with Preston; a day at the ZOO with the nephews; some hang-out time with his sisters; Shavy Jones "gig" with Ross at C4; tennis with the Woods; and a movie at home on a Saturday night.

Count your Blessings!

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done!
Healthy and loving and good and nice (most of the time) family
Karl
Annie
Haley
Willie
Ross and James
Elliott and Wyatt
Molly
Parents
Parents-in-law
Sisters and brothers, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law
Nieces and nephews
Grandparents and great grandparents
Extended family and predecessors
All the conveniences of the world
Religion, faith, hope, belief
Spiritual strength
Physical strength
Senses -- see, hear, touch/feel, smell, and taste
People I care about
People who care about me
Opportunity
Education
Work
Ability to do so many things
Ability to think and serve others
A nice home
A nice yard
Running water
A refrigerator
Happiness and joy
Comfort
Tastey food
Things to read and things to learn
Colors
A Hires cherry COKE, now and again
And so much more . . . .

May 25th -- Happy Birthday, Annie

Happy Birthday to my daughter. She is now an adult and an amazing one at that. She takes good care of her family and she is a great wife, mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, and now auntie to little Molly. She is smart and nice (to most people), and she has developed a cooking skill that surpasses any of mine.

I got to spend most of her birthday with her boys and we had a very nice day. Later in the evening we had cake and ice cream at her home. I had presents for her and Ross (belated, sorry Ross). Happy Birthday!

Long story . . . . literally!

Boa Constrictor

by Shel Silverstein

Oh, I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it -- one bit.

Well what do you know?
It's nibblin my toe.
Oh, gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh my,
It's up to my thigh.
Oh fiddle,
It's up to my middle.
Oh heck,
It's up to my neck.
Oh dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmmfffffff.......

May 14, 2010 -- a Granddaughter!

A week ago tonight I got a call from Haley that she was having contractions and that baby girl was making her way into the world. The contractions were on and off, on and off until Friday morning. Then the long awaited call came, a text message on May 14, at 9:42 a.m. from Haley -- "In the hospital. Waiting for baby."

After wrapping up some interviews and other business at my office, I made my way to the hospital around 12:30 p.m. and waited for the delivery to happen. I checked in with Haley and James and everything seemed to be under control. So, I sat in my car in the hospital parking lot for at least an hour, just waiting (I think I had a nap). Then I decided to go inside and walk around. I ended up in the cafeteria and had a late lunch -- baked salmon, Au gratin potatoes, vegetables, and a Diet Coke. After eating, I found a nice comfy chair and texted James and Haley -- back and forth. Around 2:30-3:00 p.m. James found me sitting and waiting. He told me he thought it would be another hour or so. At 4:00 p.m., I made my way to a little waiting area in the labor and delivery area. At 4:10 p.m. I heard a baby cry -- it was so sweet -- but not our baby -- I overheard that it was a 9 lb. 6 oz. boy. I talked with the nurses outside of Haley's room and asked how things were going with her. They told me that Haley had been pushing for at least an hour and that sometimes with a first baby it can take two hours of pushing. Ouch! I sat back down and watched the rain outside. A little after 5:00 p.m., I heard another baby cry, much sweeter than the cry of an hour earlier -- this time I knew it was my granddaughter entering this crazy world of ours. I felt a quiet peace and almost instantaneously, I was flooded with calls/texts from Annie, Willie, then Karl, then my mom! They all must have sensed the same feeling. And guess what -- we were all right -- she was finally here!

Text message from James received at 5:38 p.m.:
Molly Ardith Binggeli,
9 lbs. 3 oz., 21 inches, 5:05 p.m.

Text message from Haley received at 5:56 p.m.:
Come in!

I went into the delivery room and saw my sweet daughter and her husband and their beautiful baby daughter -- Molly! What an incredibly wonderful way to spend an afternoon! Molly was just minutes old and looking around and ready to take a drink from her first bottle.

Happy Birthday #1 for Wyatt!

Today is Wyatt's birthday -- he is my grandson and I love him. For his birthday, he let me give him a haircut. He is not afraid of the clippers at all -- unlike Elliott. I love my grandsons and I am patiently waiting for my little granddaughter to come. But, today is Wyatt's special day and I think it was a good one!

Mother's Day

It's a one day a year celebration for neverending influence and contribution to family, community, nation, and world. No one, no one, would be here without a mother and that is pretty amazing! I guess we need fathers, too. Sorry --

These photos are my mothers!

Graduation Season

I scanned this picture and quote from a shopping bag that held my souvenirs purchased at George Washington University last summer. I love quotes! This is a great one! I sent it out to the counselors earlier today and received some great quotes in return:

"The day we stop learning is the day we die."

"Growth is the only evidence of life."

It's that time of year -- graduation season. The U of U commencement is on Friday, May 7. Graduates I received announcements for 2010 U of U grads are:

James Binggeli (son-in-law) Bachelor of Science, Nursing
Lauren Stapley (niece) Bachelor of Science, Health Promotion and Education
Arlee Heslop (neighbor) Bachelor of Science, Human Development and Family Studies
Tycen McCann (friend's son) Bachelor of Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Others still in higher ed programs:
Karl, Haley, Peter, Natalie, Preston, Meranda, Rubie, Travis, and Lee Ann -- our family spends a lot of sweet $$moolah$$ on tuition!

Alex (nephew) finished his Automotive and Related Technologies program at SLCC in December.
Chloe (niece) will return to school in the fall - she's home from her mission on Friday.
Meranda (niece) gets her Associates Degree form SLCC on Friday along with an Academic All-American junior college softball award.

Hello Blog World!

A good friend and colleague passed away a few weeks ago. She was very ill due to complications with her heart. I think she had her first heart surgery when she was in her 40s. She was 62. I first met her when our husbands were serving in church leadership at the Stake level. We attended a dinner/get together for leaders and spouses. We sat across the table form each other. She was working on her master's degree at BYU, and I was working on mine at the "U". We ended up working as counselors in the same school district, took care of many work-related committee assignments together, traveled to the same national conferences a couple of times, and much more. When she was the RSP in the Lake Ridge 9th Ward, she asked me to speak at her Relief Society's Women's Conference on hope. She talked to me for weeks about the needs of the sisters in her ward and how they needed to see life as hopeful and felt strongly that I had something to share. I studied for the talk, and it was probably okay, but I always thought it awkward that she would ask me to speak on hope when she exemplified greater strength in hope that I could ever know. She lost three children as babes, struggled with health issues for as long as I knew her with the most difficult and aneurysm that brought on an early medical retirement. As I look back, it may have been my lesson to learn as I think about that talk tonight.

My friend was also very smart, clever, witty, and funny. In fact, it was in 1998, that she wrote up her funeral plans and left them as an icon on her computer desktop. Her children carried out their mom's wishes with funny stories and events. The funeral service was truly a celebration of her positive impact and a fun-filled contributor to the world around her. Interesting to note that she went to Hawaii with her husband and sister and brother-in-law just after Christmas. Needless to say that was a trip to cherish.

No place like home!

After a long day at school, work, or wherever, there is nothing like coming home. Generally speaking, home is where you feel safe and comfortable. It's where you find the people you love the most. I think our home is all of these things and more.

I have been thinking about the homes where I've lived. When I was a baby, our family lived on 5th East and Kensington Avenue in a basement apartment. The apartment was located halfway between the Eccles' and the Hubers. When I was about a year old, my family moved to Magna where my parents still live. That was the home of my childhood, Grandma and Grandpa's place to Annie, Haley and Willie, and now where Elliott and Wyatt find Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.

When Karl and I were first married, we lived in Grandma Chipman's house (in old Magna). It was the nicest house, very tight and neat and clean -- with a garage, a patio, and an air conditioner. Annie was born while we lived there and since it was only a one-bedroom home, we created a place for Annie in the corner of the living room. We lived there for about three years.

We then bought a little house a little further east in Magna where the girls grew up and a place Willie can't remember. It was a tiny house, but we made it such a beautiful home. We named this home, and we still refer to her as "Mildred" even today. We lived there 20 years.

It's now been nearly 11 years since we moved to Hunter -- and this is really the nicest home in so many ways -- I love it! And, when I come home at the end of a very long day, there is nothing like the feeling I have when we have dinner, watch a little television, do some homework, talk, have a late evening treat, snack, or tall glass of cold milk, and then watch "The Office" before going to bed. It's the best, and I really must say, "There's no place, anywhere, like home!"

Happy Birthday, Haley!

I can remember the arrival of each of my kids as if those events were just yesterday. As I was sitting at my computer an hour or so ago and waiting for Karl to get home from school, I couldn't help but think about the night Haley was born. It may be of interest to note that 30 years ago tonight I was doing the same thing (minus the computer). Then almost two-year-old Annie was in bed asleep and my sister Cindy was hanging out with me waiting for Karl to get home from a late class so he could take me to the hospital to deliver a beautiful baby girl. Mind you, this was long before cell phones and texting -- I had no way of letting Karl know that he needed to get home, fast. I just waited -- with some pain now and again. Needless to say, we made it to the LDS hospital and Haley Quinn was born a little after midnight on April 8, 1980. She weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 21 inches long, she had all of her fingers and toes, and a fuzzy head (I can't say it was hair). She was a very healthy baby and toddler and very smart, too. She could walk at 11 months and toilet trained herself by the time she was about 18 months old. Not to discount all of the life events over a 30 year time frame, but Haley is still a beautiful daughter and smart. She has a great husband, James. She teaches kids of all shapes, sizes, and intellects how to do hard math problems, and in her spare time she teaches a few lucky kids to play the piano, the guitar, and the banjo. She takes care of James, Willie, and the grandparents, like no other. She loves the double T's -- Elliott and Wyatt. She will do anything for anyone -- so often ahead of her own things. And, she loves her family, Utah basketball, family history and history in general, controversial topics and opinions, the colors green, yellow, and brown, all kinds of music and documentaries, yard work, Primary kids, bread, potatoes, and cheeseburgers.

In about a month from now, Haley and James will have their own beautiful daughter. How lucky their little one will be to have such excited and awesome parents and too many family members to count who will love her and care for her.

Happy Birthday, Haley!

Oh Puke!

The college basketball season came to an end tonight but not without a battle to the last second! I am so proud of the Butler Bulldogs! And how about their coach, Brad Stevens, a 33-year-old amazing coach!

The Bulldogs got past UTEP, Murray State, Syracuse, Kansas State, and Michigan State in some of the most exciting basketball I've seen all season. But the final game, oh Puke! It ended in a loss by a just 2 measly points. But, to the Butler Bulldogs' credit, they held their heads high and walked off the court -- no floor slamming or towels covering teary eyes. They walked off the court as the second place team in a 64 team NCAA March Madness Tournament. Good job!

March -- Out Like a Lion or Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

The old saying goes -- if March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb. March has pulled a reverse this year. The weather for the first days of March was beautiful and calm. Yesterday and today have been insanely windy, dusty, and gritty. People are sneezing, coughing, and generally stuffy and congested. On the last day of March (tomorrow) we can expect more wind and rain and snow and maybe even a few meatballs.

Weather sayings are pretty cool and most of them come from the Farmer's Almanac or some other weather predicting source. Other March weather sayings are:

A dry March and a wet May fill barns and bays with corn and hay.

As it rains in March, so it rains in June.

March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers.

Ides of March

Ides of March is a phrase from Roman calendars of thousands of years ago. Ides means the 15th day of any month. The phrase became an infamous line in Julius Caesar, "Beware the Ides of March," Caesar was warned by a seer. The phrase infers or foreshadows something scary or awful may happen to him and it in fact did -- Julius Caesar was killed -- stabbed to death by a bunch of crazed Roman Senators.

Well, today has been just like any other day in spite of it being the Ides of March. School and work and then home. Karl and Willie went to a Jazz game; I just returned home from checking on the grandparents; and, I plan to go through a few weeks of mail and straighten up the house.